Against All Odds
by PirateWizardThief
Summary: Searching for answers of her own, Riley Singer hits the road with the Winchester brothers in search of John. Together they hunt ghosts, monsters, demons, and other supernatural beings all the while struggling with their own troubles. Can they keep it together long enough to find John? Or will the past threaten to tear them apart?
1. Woman in White

**Hey guys! Here is the remake of my The Trouble With Love Is story. I hope it's a bit more engaging that the last one. I made a few improvements and fixed up a bit.**

Chapter 1: The Woman in White

The night was dark and muggy. A stifling heat not usually felt near the end of October. The dank, abandoned house was almost unbearable, but the weather wasn't what was bothering the occupant of said cabin. She didn't own it, nor live in it, but at the moment it could have been her death bed.

Sweat made her clothing stick to her, but it soon wouldn't matter. All she had to do was finish off the last one. The leader of the werewolf pack. A big tall, brute by the name of Heath Edgecombe. The snags? Her gun with the silver bullets was across the room of what was once the parlor, just barely out of sight behind the decrepit old musty loveseat. She was behind the china cabinet or what was left of it. The other problem was the house's other inhabitant, an old man who was haunting the place. He apparently had been doing it for years and that was who she was originally there for. The werewolf pack had been a nearly fatal coincidence.

The family that had wanted to renovate the house called her father, the husband of the family was a man who knew what lurked in dark so he had called Bobby who in turned called her. "Simple salt and burn, princess." The gruff hunter had told her. Simple indeed. No one mentioned a werewolf pack hovering around.

Riley heard a sound and looked up in time to see the werewolf making a leap for her and a yelp died in her throat.

* * *

The silence was almost deafening and he loathed it. He had never had to drive alone before. At least not for a long period of time. The passenger seat used to be filled with the tall, shaggy haired form of his younger brother, Sam, but it was now empty. Occasionally his father had filled the spot, but now he was gone too.

 _I'll be back, Dean._ His father had said. _It's just a simple hunt._ _You're old enough to be on your own._

Dean snorted and said aloud: "What a load of crock."

Since when had John Winchester ever trusted him to do hunts on his own? Never. Sure, they had split up to do different jobs on the hunt, but they were hunting the same thing, he was never _really_ alone. He always had back up. When he needed it anyway.

Sam had been away at college for three years. Three years of no phone calls, no nothing from the kid. John had refused to even acknowledge Sam's name for the first few months that his brother had been gone. The night Sam had left them, they had had a blowout. A shouting, headbutting match that seemed endless.

Dean had tried to convince him to stay, but Sam had been obnoxiously stubborn. Had been stubborn for years and just stuck to his guns. The kid had sneakily sent in a scholarship request for the college one day and actually got a fully paid ride to Stanford. It was impressive, Dean would admit to himself and no other, but he had done it behind their backs. Betrayed them, at least in John's eyes. Or so it had seemed.

His father started making long trips to some place for a few days a month and Dean discovered that he had been watching over Sammy. Making sure all was well with his youngest boy. Never speaking to him or letting him know he was around, but watchful all the same. At Dean knew that John wasn't completely forgetting his younger son.

His phone ringing, pulled him out of his thoughts and he dug for the cell in his pocket, hoping it was his dad.

" _Dean."_

He blinked at the familiar gruff tone. "Bobby?"

" _Forgot my voice already son?"_ The hunter asked offendedly, but with a teasing undertone.

Dean smirked back. "Forget you? Nah."

" _Been a few years and you've not picked up a phone. Coulda been dead for all I knew."_ Dean rolled his eyes. _"Anyhow, I need your help."_

"What can I do for you?"

" _Locate my daughter."_

Dean frowned. He hadn't thought about Riley in a long time. He had tried to put her out of his mind after their last conversation. The last time he had laid eyes on her and the way they had left things. What he had said to her… "Is she hurt?"

The very idea of her being hurt sent long buried feelings of brotherly worriment flow through him. She and Sam used to be the only two in the world he'd wanted to protect from everything bad thing. From all the supernatural world even. They had learned about it too young, too late to keep it from them. Not that John had intended to keep Sam obvious forever. Riley had figured it out on her own, having always been a clever girl.

" _Don't know."_ Bobby answered. _"Won't answer. I sent her to Oregon for a simple salt and burn. She's not called me back yet. Not that she ever does most time. So you ain't heard from her either, I'm guessin'?"_

"I haven't spoken to her in five years." He said truthfully, willing the memory of their last talk to leave his mind. He didn't need to think about that. "And last I heard anything about her was from dad. She called him from Texas about something she was hunting. That was over a few months ago, I think."

" _She called John about that?"_ He heard the man scoff. _"Of course, she did. Well, she was supposed to call me a few days ago. She's not answering. Not that that's anything new."_

Dean frowned. "I thought you worked cases together? Does she not live with you anymore?"

" _She took a lesson from Sam and split six months ago to be on her own."_ Bobby monotoned and judging by that tone of voice, Dean knew better than to push for explanations, something had obviously gone wrong on between them. Although Dean couldn't remember a time when it had ever gone wrong. Riley and Bobby had gotten along since day one. _"She might answer if you call her."_

"Same number?"

" _Mmhm. Unless she ditched that too. A few of my buddies were keeping tabs on her, but she's managed to slip away from them more than once."_

Dean rolled his eyes. "Still stubborn? How is she by the way? At least before she left."

" _Things aren't the same anymore."_ Bobby said quietly after a long worrying pause. _"She ain't the same."_ Dean frowned.

"Something happen?"

" _I ain't going into detail, that's her business, but I'm just letting you know that she's had a very rough year. Your brother all right?"_

"Guess so. Dad's been keeping tabs on him."

Bobby snorted. _"Knew he wasn't stubborn enough to let him go completely."_ He paused for a moment. _"Call me when you find her."_

"What kind of case was she working?"

" _Poltergeist. Something must have gone wrong."_

"I'm sure she's fine." Dean told him. "You know how she gets." All the same, he made the turn on the highway and coaxed the car a little faster. "Tell me where she was supposed to be."

* * *

Dean got out of the Impala, eyeing the building before him before heading to his trunk to get out a shotgun. Riley's lime green Volkswagen was sitting nearby so he knew she was close.

When he heard a werewolf howl cut through the silence, he froze.

"Damn it." He muttered and dug for his silver bullets. Normally, he wouldn't have worried. Back then, Riley had been one of the best shots he had ever known for her age. Even John had praised her for it and that was hard to accomplish. But Bobby said it had been a few days and if she hadn't expected it…

He shook his head. She was fine. She was probably hunting the thing while he stood there. Shouldering the gun and shoving bullets into his jacket pocket, he closed the trunk and headed for the decrepit building.

Signs of a struggle was laid clearly before him, imprints in the dust covered floor and objects. Blood splatters everywhere.

"Back off, asshole!" He heard a familiar voice snap and the sound of a gunshot going off above his head. Dust rained down from the creaky ceiling as something thudded loudly, crashing into the floor, and then someone was muttering under their breath.

Feeling cold on the back of his head, Dean whirled around to see a ghostly apparition of an old man.

"Get outta my house, you sum bitch!" He yelled.

"Gladly, fugly." The elder Winchester son smirked and shot the ghost in the chest with the rock salt. The ghost screamed and flickered out of sight.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

He whirled around again, slightly angry that he hadn't heard her coming. A young woman, around twenty years of age, stood at the bottom of the stairs, sapphire blue eyes flashing with anger. She was dusty and had bloody spots on her, though he couldn't tell if it was hers or not.

"I didn't call _you_."

"Nice to see you too, Blondie." Dean retorted and she rolled her eyes. "What do you mean you didn't call _me_?"

She pushed past him, elbowing him out of the way. "Out of the way, Winchester." She grabbed a black backpack that looked like it had seen better days, slinging it over one shoulder and marching purposely out the back door of the house. Dean followed her, curious and frustrated.

The girl was pouring salt and gasoline over a freshly dug up hole when he stepped off the porch. Over the bones of the poltergeist, he assumed. She lit a match catching a rag on fire and tossing it into the grave. Flames appeared and they heard the tell-tale sounds of the seriously pissed off ghost wailing in agony before a rough wind blew out of the house, breaking a few windows in the process, before dying down completely. During all of this, Dean was able to look over the girl before him.

Riley had changed a lot in the past five years. The last time he had seen her, she had been fifteen. A perky, over-enthusiastic teenage cheerleader. She still looked hot as hell though. Even more so now that she was no longer a teen. She had always been curvy, but now it was more noticeable. And she was still short. That almost made him smirk.

Her hair was still golden blonde and was done in a braid that had seen better days. Other than the obvious, she looked good.

"How long are you going to stare at me?" She demanded, arching an eyebrow in amusement. Dean blinked and refocused, shrugging shamelessly as his eyes slowly slid away from her chest.

"Can't help it. Almost didn't recognize you."

She shrugged back, but there was a bit of satisfaction in her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Your dad was worried."

"Seriously?" She scowled and picked up her shovel, carrying it over one shoulder. "I'm not a baby. He needs to stop sending people after me." She walked back towards the front of the house and he followed after her, matching her pace easily. Or maybe she let him, he wasn't sure.

Dean rolled his eyes. "He's concerned. Apparently, you didn't call him."

She slowed, taking in what he had said.

"Right…I busted my phone." She murmured. "Last night. I was on the case, so I couldn't run to get a new one, ya know?" She ran a hand through her hair, mussing up the braid even more and she eventually took it down, letting her hair flow down her back. It had gotten longer from the last time he has seen her. Dean suddenly had an urge to run his hands through it as the scent of strawberries hit his nose. He shook his head to clear it, frowning at himself.

Riley got to her lime green Volkswagen beetle and Dean snorted.

"Can't believe you still drive that."

She rolled her eyes and opened her trunk. "Yeah. Either that or that rust bucket of a truck that dad has. How'd you find me? Daddy?"

Dean nodded even though she didn't turn around to look at him. "Yeah. He called."

"Can I call him back on yours then?"

"Yeah." Dean tossed it to her, when she settled the shovel back into the bottom of the trunk.

She dialed the number and held the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said and leaned against the car. Dean rocked back on his heels, trying to look everywhere but at her. If she had been anyone else he would have been trying to flirt with her, but this was little Riles. Blondie to him. She had been like a sister to him and Sam.

"I'm _fine_." She said sharply and Dean glanced back at her. She was scowling at the ground. "He showed up when I had the thing ready to kill off." Riley nodded to herself. "Yes, daddy. I know." Her voice was softer now, her face no longer angry. "You know I can't." She was melancholy now, confusing Dean. "No, I'm still looking."

He arched an eyebrow, intrigued.

"I'll call you when I buy a new phone. Friggin' werewolf threw me out a window and I landed on the phone." Dean could hear Bobby's voice raise up a notch and Riley snorted. "I'm fine, dad. No, I know you didn't know. I'm fine. I handled it. Just a few bruises. I'll call later. I don't know when." She looked conflicted for a moment. "I'm sorry too...Love you." She hung up after a second and tossed the phone back to him. "Thanks."

"Looking for someone? Something?"

She shrugged. "Might be. Not your problem though."

She was still stubborn that much hadn't changed. But something had, he could see it.

Silence fell between them. "You, uh, you doing okay?" He made himself ask, awkwardness in his tone, and she stiffened before looking at him over her shoulder. He expected her to be cold and angry with him, in remembrance of the last time they had spoken to one another. Instead, there was a sadness, a loneliness, in her gaze that he hadn't seen since she had been four years old. He couldn't imagine anything that would make her look like that.

"Yeah." She uttered softly. "You?"

"Yeah." Dean frowned for a moment and added: "Dad's gone." Riley froze and turned to face him again.

"What do you mean? What happened to John?"

"He's disappeared. Went on a hunt, said he'd be back. Never came back. It's been a few days."

Riley's mouth thinned into a line, brow furrowing. "That's not like him." Dean knew she'd find it odd too. She knew John almost as well as he did. "Think something happened?"

Dean shrugged, trying not to show his anxiety at the thought. "I don't know."

She nodded, ignoring the look of brief panic she saw go across Dean's face. Even after all of these years, she knew better than to point out that he had feelings of any kind. She adjusted her red leather jacket and faced him again. "You want my help looking for him?"

"If you want. Gonna pick up Sammy too."

"Isn't he in college?" She raised an eyebrow. "Away from hunting and all that?"

Dean scoffed. "Yeah, well, time to get his ass back in the game. Dad's missing."

Riley snorted at his choice of words.

"I am looking for something." She admitted after a second and Dean looked at her. "In answer to your earlier question. Some friends of mine were killed about six months ago. I've been trying to find their killer."

Dean frowned. "Monster?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I never saw it. Just saw…" She hesitated, a flash of regret and pain in her eyes and she shook her head. "Anyway, I've been having some trouble. I was on what I thought was a trail, but then it went cold. There's nothing…That's why I called John. He told me to call if I needed help. And I think he can help me figure it out. I've done everything to find it. Looked everywhere."

He nodded once. "Well, you can ask him when we find him. Dad always has the answer."

She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Yeah, he does. I'll follow you."

* * *

A few hours later, Riley parked her car near Dean's and got out. He climbed out of the Impala and tilted his head at her. She was looking over the sleek black car, a faraway look in her eyes.

"What?"

"That car." She smiled, her eyes meeting his. "It's my favorite. Lots of memories."

"Yeah." He said fondly and ran his hand along it. "I was so happy when Dad gave me the keys." He glanced at the building before them. "You can wait here or come with. Sam will be glad to see you."

"I'll wait here."

"Oh, come on."

She sighed. "All right, but why do I get the feeling he's not going to be happy to see us?"

Dean ignored her and she shook her head. Some things never changed. That made her slow her steps. Things _had_ changed since the last time she had seen him and time had been so great to Dean. She admired the way his jeans clung to his butt. The man had a great butt. She shook her head, mentally slapping herself. How could even think those thoughts after their last conversation? The last time she had ever seen him? When his words had cut her so deeply she never thought she'd be able to feel again?

"Earth to Blondie."

She arched an eyebrow at Dean. He was halfway up the fire escape ladder, looking over his shoulder at her with a half-amused expression.

"What are you doing?"

He rolled his eyes. "Going into the apartment, duh."

"Why can't you use a door like a normal person?" He just smirked and she snorted. "I forgot, that would imply you were normal." Shaking her head, she started up the ladder behind him.

Dean pried open the window with ease, something that, had Riley not been used to, would have shocked her. Being a hunter meant you were stealthy to some degree and more than likely able to pick a lock or jimmy open a window with the ease of a professional thief.

She slipped inside after him and looked around at the apartment.

"This is nice." She said more to herself than to Dean, but he did have to agree with her. It was a nice little place for Sam and it was obvious that he wasn't living alone.

A crash made her roll her eyes. "Could you not break anything?" She turned around. "Dean?" He was nowhere to be seen. Sounds of a fight suddenly came from the living room and she moved slowly out of the kitchen, her eyes widened as Dean fought with his brother. It had to have been Sam. He was very tall and his fighting stance hadn't changed over the years.

"Whoa, easy tiger." Dean grinned as he pinned his little brother to the ground.

Sam froze beneath him. "Dean? You scared the crap out of me."

"That's cause you're out of practice."

Sam flipped their positions with ease and Dean's back slammed onto the ground.

"Or not. Get off me."

Riley laughed and Dean scowled at her.

Sam's head whipped up from his brother at the sound of another person and he blinked. In the doorway to the kitchen stood a young woman with long blonde hair, shimmering blue eyes, and a red leather jacket. He got off the floor and his brother slowly.

"...Riley?"

"Hey, Sam. It's good to see you." She waved at him and he engulfed her in a hug automatically. She returned it enthusiastically, happy to see the younger Winchester. "It's been a while. I've missed you."

"Missed you too." He held her back at arm's length to look from her to Dean. "What are you guys doing here? Are you hurt? Dean?" He glanced at his brother. "Everything okay?"

"We're fine. Or at least I am." She told him.

"You've got blood on you." Sam said dryly and she glanced down at her side.

"Oh, crap. Guess that werewolf did get me."

At his narrow-eyed look, Dean tossed his hands up. "Didn't see it."

Riley examined her side. "Oh, it's not mine." She announced and Sam rolled his eyes. "Just got bruises."

"What the hell are you doing here?" He repeated in exasperation.

"We were looking for a beer." Dean smirked and Riley lightly swatted him on the back of the head. Sam huffed.

"Sam?"

The lights flickered on and they looked over to see a pretty blond blinking sleepily at them in confusion. She had on a pair of pink pajama shorts with stripes of green, yellow, and red. Her top was an old blue tee shirt with a Smurf on it and it was cut like a v-neck shirt.

"Jess, hey." Sam said softly before looking awkward. He had not expected his brother to show up unannounced in his apartment and he did not expect to have to introduce him to his girlfriend. And he definitely hadn't expected Riley to show up _with_ Dean. Especially since they hadn't seen her in five years.

Jessica was watching him, waiting for an explanation and he shifted slightly.

"Dean, Riley, this is my girlfriend, Jessica." He said just to get it over with. Dean looked her up and down and nodded at Sam in approval.

"Wait. Your brother Dean?" Jess asked, smiling widely and much more relaxed. She smiled kindly at Riley. "And you're their friend Riley?"

"That's me." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Jessica." The younger girl told her and quickly pulled her jacket tighter against her to hide the dried blood. Sam almost sighed aloud in relief that she had the sense not to show off the blood.

Dean sauntered forward. "I love the Smurfs." He smirked and she cocked an eyebrow at him in amusement. Behind him, Riley rolled her eyes, knowingly exactly what he was "loving" and it had nothing to do with the cartoon. "You know, I gotta tell you, are completely out of my brother's league."

"Just let me put something on." She said, gesturing at the bedroom.

Dean looked disappointed. "No, no, no. I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously."

"Knock it off, Dean." Riley said with a roll of her dark blue eyes. He could be such a pain sometimes.

Jessica tilted her head curiously. "Are you two dating?"

"Oh, hell no." Riley spoke up first and Dean nodded in agreement.

"No way…Did you think we were…No, no, no. Absolutely not. She's like a close sister or-"

"Okay, I think she gets it." The blonde snapped at him. "Don't hurt yourself." Dean rolled his eyes. Sam shook his head. Nothing had changed apparently. They still bickered like an old married couple.

"Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business. But, uh, nice meeting you." Dean stated swiftly.

Jessica looked at Sam and he frowned.

"No." He said turning to face Dean as he walked over to his girl. "No. Whatever you wanna say, you can say it in front of her."

Riley almost smiled at the way he wanted to include Jess.

"Okay." Dean said with a shrug of indifference. "Um, Dad hasn't been home in a few days." Sam looked at his brother incredulously.

"So, he's working overtime on a "Miller Time" shift." He said not wanting to hear what his brother was really telling him. Riley bit her lip as he continued. "He'll stumble back in sooner or later."

"No, Sam. John's on a hunting trip." She tried instead and Sam's brow furrowed.

Dean nodded. "And he hasn't been home in a few days."

Jessica looked at the brothers and then at the blond who was looking concerned at whatever the news meant. She had no clue what they were talking about, but it seemed to upset everyone and from the way Sam was stiffened at her side, it upset him too.

"Jess, excuse us." He murmured to her and she nodded understandingly. "We have to go outside." Sam smiled at her and she gave him a look that meant he was going to have to explain later. Riley waved at the girl on her way out the door.

"It was nice meeting you." She said to Jessica and she smiled.

"You too, hope everything is okay." She murmured and Riley nodded not sure how to respond before following Dean out the door.

* * *

Riley closed the door behind them and Sam remained silent as they went towards the stairs, once he was sure no one else could hear them he started in.

"I mean, come on." He began. "You can't just break in, in the middle of the night, and expect me to hit the road with you."

"You're not hearing me, Sammy." Dean snapped back. "Dad's missing. I need you to help us find him."

Sam frowned. "You remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gate in Clifton? He was missing then too." He paused at the foot of the stairs and Riley bumped into his back as Dean whirled to face him. "He's _always_ missing and he's _always_ fine."

"Not for this long." Dean said firmly and he actually looked concerned. Sam knew then, that this really was worrying his older brother. "Now, are you going to come with me or not?"

"I'm not." Sam said and Riley couldn't help but feel sad that he didn't want to go. But she had seen that he was happy here and couldn't deny that she had already been thinking that he wouldn't go. John had pushed him too far.

"Why not?" Dean asked disbelievingly and she saw the angry look in his eyes.

"Here it comes." She muttered under her breath. A lecture from the wise Dean Winchester.

"I swore I was done hunting. For good." Sam responded firmly.

"Come on. It wasn't easy but it wasn't that bad." Dean frowned at Sam, his temper boiling. "Right, Riley?"

She started to respond, but Sam cut her off. "Don't bring her into this. And yeah it was that bad." Dean started walking again and Riley had to straighten up to avoid smacking the floor as the younger brother followed.

"When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45." He continued and Dean looked at him over his shoulder.

"What was he supposed to do?" He asked seriously and Riley sighed.

"I was nine years old." Sam said incredulously. "He was supposed to say "Don't be afraid of the dark"."

Dean rolled his eyes.

"'Don't be afraid of the dark?' What are you kidding me? Of course you're supposed to be afraid of the dark. You know what's out there." He retorted hotly.

"Yeah, I know." Sam stated seriously. "But still, the way we grew up, after Mom was killed and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her. But we still haven't found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find." Riley bit her lip anxiously and Dean saw.

"What about, Riley? Her _mother_ was killed, Sam."

Riley scowled. "Don't bring me into this." She snapped at him. "This is between you and your brother." Sam put a hand on her shoulder. She really didn't want to talk about that. Secretly it still gave her nightmares, although she was too young to remember everything she did have flashes of things that happened that night, but never told anyone. She bared it alone.

"But we saved a lot of people doing it too." Dean continued, ignoring her.

Sam let out a brief humorless laugh. "Do you think Mom would have wanted this for us?" They had reached the bottom of the stairs now and Dean shoved the creaky metal gate open as they went outside towards his pride and joy. Sam continued to speak as they approached the car.

"The weapon training and the melting silver into bullets? Man, Dean we were raised like warriors."

Dean looked at Riley. "She was too. And she isn't complaining."

"That's because she hasn't known anything else!" Sam snapped and Riley blinked. "She's been under Dad's influence ever since she and I were both old enough to hold a revolver. Against what Bobby wanted for her!" Riley blinked at Sam.

He was right of course, but she really didn't like that he made it seem like she had no choice. It wasn't as if Bobby hadn't tried to keep her in the dark about his secret hunter life and John had too. They both had tried, but Riley hadn't been so easy to fool and she had soon been trained with the two Winchester brothers. And it wasn't against Bobby's wishes exactly. She had begged to be just like him and John. But…somewhere in her mind, Riley sometimes wished that she _had_ been kept in the dark about it.

"He may not have wanted it, but I did." She told him seriously. "This is what I wanted."

Sam frowned, but he just let it go for now. Dean glanced at her briefly before clearing his throat.

"So what are you going to do?" He asked as they got to the back of the car. "You're just going to live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?"

"No. Not normal. Safe." Sam murmured.

"And that's why you ran away." Dean scoffed, frowning. Riley snorted.

"John ran him off, Dean. You know that."

Sam scoffed back at his brother, looking dumbfounded that Dean was acting this way.

"I was just going to college. It was Dad that said if I was going to go, I should stay gone." Sam stated, looking back at his brother and Dean looked at him.

"Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now, if he's not dead already. I can feel it." After a minute Dean continued, shifting awkwardly. "I can't do this alone."

"Yes, you can." Sam argued back and Riley cleared her throat to get Dean's attention and he sighed.

"Yeah. Well, I don't _want to."_ He finally admitted reluctantly. Sam sighed too.

"You have Riley with you."

Riley shook her head. "He wants his brother, Sam." She told him softly when Dean was opening the trunk of the Impala. "Just come with us to find your dad. You both need to talk and you know that." Sam frowned and she touched his arm. "Do it for Dean, Sam. Your big brother. He's always taken care of you, hasn't he?" The young man's face softened. "And of course, do it for me. Just because." He laughed softly and nodded.

"What was he hunting?" He asked aloud and with slight hesitation. Dean gave him a knowing smirk as he rummaged through his trunk.

"All right. Let's see. Where the hell did I put that thing?" He muttered to himself as he dug through the piles of weapons that were in the back of the trunk. Weapons were something that was needed for the job and Riley could use just about every one of those weapons, thanks to John and Bobby and a few other hunters she had grown up knowing.

"So when Dad left, why didn't you go with him?" Sam asked Dean, before glancing at Riley curiously. "And I thought that you were still at Bobby's?"

"Dean found me on a job." The girl stated quickly and the way she said it made Sam look at her in concern but she only shook her head. It wasn't something to get into right then.

"I was working my own gig." Dean answered, having caught the glances between Sam and Riley. He narrowed his eyes at them, but he could see that Riley wasn't happy about something, the sight of her worrying her lower lip indicated to that. She saw him looking and straightened, pushing back her unhappiness much to Dean's annoyance. She could be so cryptic about everything.

"This wouldn't be the kind of gig with poker cards would it?" She asked with a smirk and he answered her with a smirk of his own.

"No. It was this voodoo thing down in New Orleans."

"Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?" Sam asked and his big brother gave him a look.

"I'm twenty-six, dude. Ah, here it is." He drew some papers out of the large envelope. "So Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside of Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy," He handed a paper to Sam and Riley looked over his shoulder to read, and had to stand on her tip-toes. "-went missing. They found his car, but he'd vanished. Completely, MIA."

"So, maybe he was kidnapped?" Sam suggested, not thinking that paranormal activity was involved. He really was looking for a way out of it.

"Yeah, well. Here's another one in April." Dean handed out more papers. "Another in December '04, '03, '98, '92. Ten of them over the past twenty years."

"All were men?" Riley asked and Dean nodded.

"All were men. And all on the same five-mile stretch of road. It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago." Dean looked up then. "I haven't heard from him since, which is bad enough. Then I get this voice mail yesterday." He flipped his cell open and pressed a button. John's voice came through the speakers full of static.

" _Dean. Something is starting to happen. I think it's serious. I need to try to find out what's going on. It may be…looking for…be very careful Dean. Were all in danger."_ After that Dean shut the phone and looked at them.

"You know there is an E.V.P on that?" Sam asked, hearing the tell-tale ghost signs.

"Not bad, Sammy. Kind of like riding a bike, isn't it?" Dean asked and Sam rolled his eyes. "All right. I slowed the message down and ran it through a Goldwave. Took out the hiss and this is what I got." He played it again and this time a woman's eerie voice came from the speakers.

" _I can never go home."_

"Never go home." Sam repeated thinking it over. Dean shut the trunk and sat against the back.

"You know in two years. I've never bothered you, never asked you for a thing." Dean stated, giving Sam a look. Riley looked at Sam, wondering what his final decision would be. He sighed and looked at the building behind him. Riley bet he was thinking of Jessica.

"All right. I'll go. I'll help you find him. But I have to get back first thing Monday." Sam warned and Dean frowned.

"What's first thing Monday?"

"I have this…I have an interview."

"What, a job interview? Skip it." Sam looked shocked and then rolled his eyes.

"It's a law school interview, and it's my whole future on a plate."

"That's wonderful, Sam!" Riley said and hugged him. "I'm so proud of you!" Sam patted her back with a smile. Looking up, Sam caught the look in his brother's eyes and arched an eyebrow, storing that away. Was Dean…jealous? Or had he simply mistaken the look?

"Thanks." Sam said with a grin, looking back at Riley.

"Law school?" Dean asked, seeming indifferent but both could tell he was impressed. "So do we have a deal or not?" He asked and Sam nodded.

"Yeah."

"You still comin', Blondie?" Dean asked Riley and nodded.

"Definitely."

Dean patted the Impala. "Ride with us?"

"Yeah, sure. If you can spare the room."

"I'm going to talk to Jess really quick and then we can go, all right?" Sam murmured and Riley turned to him.

"She's beautiful, Sam. I'm happy for you."

He smiled widely. "Thank you."

Riley grabbed her duffel bag from the car, trying to ignore Dean staring at her.

"Hey, um...About the way we left things before..."

"Don't." She said quickly, shaking her head. "If we want this to work, we can't talk about it or bring it up. I've put it behind me and I'm sure you've done the same. I'm over it and that's that."

Dean watched her untense as she went back into the safety of her car to grab more of her things. He frowned slightly. She had been living in her car. He could tell that much. Clothing, food wrappers, empty mini shampoo and soap containers. She had been out of Bobby's house for a while now it seemed.  
"Are you really over it?"

She looked at him. "What do you want me to say? I was fifteen and stupid." She said simply and then sighed. "Really, Dean. I don't have a problem working with you again. I care about John too, you know. He was another dad to me."

"Yeah." He murmured, feeling a bit better, and then cleared his throat. "You don't have much stuff."

Riley snorted. "I've run out of a lot of things. If we can stop at gas station sometime, I can get what I need."

"I know you talked to him. Sam. Thanks for that."

She smiled. "Even if I hadn't he would have helped, Dean. John is his father too, whether he's mad at him or not."

Sam came out of the building then, a bag over his shoulder. He smiled at Riley before shoving his things into the trunk with hers.

"You good in the back?"

"Definitely." She nodded. "It will be great to not have to drive for a while." Sam was the nicest guy she knew...other than…Eli… Riley blinked back the tears that formed at the thought of the name and she quickly hid it before Sam could get a good look at her in the dimly lit car.

"Don't worry about me, I get more leg room." He laughed as she stretched out across the back. "Oh and by the way...Happy Halloween." Sam and Dean both snorted.

They took off down the road seconds later and within minutes Riley was asleep. Sam looked at her and then to Dean.

"So...Werewolf?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, Bobby called me. She hadn't answered him in a few days. Sent her on a salt and burn...No one knew about the werewolves."

Sam looked back over his shoulder at Riley. The girl was curled in the backseat, a frown on her face.

"She could have gotten really hurt. Why was she alone? Did she tell you?"

"Nope and Bobby wouldn't say much about it. Apparently, they had a falling out."

"Bobby and Riley? I can't believe it."

Silence fell again and Sam looked out the window.

"She seems...nice. Jessica, I mean." Dean managed to say and Sam smiled where he couldn't see.

"Yeah. She is. Jess is the best thing that's happened to me."

It was Dean's turn to smile where his brother couldn't see. In the backseat Riley let out whimper.

* * *

Riley grabbed all the travel sized containers of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and deodorant she could fit into her basket. A man down the aisle was watching her, but she ignored him the best she could. She knew what she looked like, but it couldn't be helped. She had washed her hair in the bathroom sink, so now it semi-wet and clung to her clothing. She couldn't help that the gas station of Dean's choice was full of leering mechanics and truckers. Backroad hillbillies. Moving to the next aisle quickly, she found toothbrushes and floss. A thin, slightly grubby hand landed on the shelf above her and she felt her hair stir at the movement of someone leaning against the shelves.

"Nice day, innit?" He drawled and she nodded, moving slightly up the aisle. He followed her and she chanced a glance at him. He was tall and not so scrawny, with a long thin nose and a pair of mud brown eyes that were leering at her in what he obviously thought was a friendly manner. His tobacco smelling breath hit her bare shoulder and she grimaced.

"Yeah. It's nice." She answered and turned to leave. He grabbed her wrist.

"Wait a minute, honey. Don't go just yet."

Riley scowled. "Let go of me." She warned and he tightened his grip.

"What's a nice looking sweet girl doing all alone? You traveling to see someone?"

She heard him come down the aisle before she saw him in the reflective lens of the mirror mounted in the corner. Dean's foot steps came closer, slowly, his gaze on the shelves. He paused near them and glanced up at the reflective glass before narrowing his eyes. Riley knew he was about to start something so she jerked her hand free and passed him rapidly, moving onto the next aisle and leaving him no opportunities to ask questions as she grabbed a random bag of chips.

Unfortunately, Dean followed her.

"What was that?"

"A perverted trucker." She answered him, without looking and he started to touch her. "Don't, I'm fine."

"He's watching you." Dean said lowly and despite her muttered protests, he wrapped his arm around her waist. He watched the trucker retreat, obviously not in the mood to try and tussle with him and the man left the store with a disappointed look.

Riley resisted to the best of her ability to not lean against the warm body next to her. It was going to be hard to ignore how good looking he was, how much he still affected her after not seeing him for five years. But the remembrance of their last conversation came to mind as well as the last time she had let herself fall for someone and that had ended badly as well.

Dean could feel how stiff she was, uncomfortable with the arm he had around her. When she trembled slightly, he grew concerned.

"Riles-"

"Thanks, but he's gone now. You can let go." She said in a rush, pulling out the drink she wanted.

She pulled away from him and he let his arm fall.

When she went to the register, Dean was behind her, almost pressed against her back again because of the limited spacing. Heat was radiating against her back and she swallowed nervously. She paid for her things, ignoring his curious gaze on the items she had gotten. She turned, almost bumping into him on her way out and he smirked at her when she almost fell.

"Shut up." She told him with no real heat in her voice.

* * *

Sam looked up when she exited the convenience store with pink cheeks. She got into the backseat and started sorting through her bag without a word.

"So...You and Bobby? I hate to ask, but I gotta know. It's...weird."

Riley sighed with a nod of her head. "I know. We got into an argument. After what happened to my friends...We didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. He meant well as he always does, but it was my fault it happened, Sam." She met his eyes, her were pained filled and full or regret. "I couldn't let it go. I _can't_ let it go. Something happened that night. It wasn't...I didn't understand it."

Sam nodded. "So, you haven't been home since."

"I feel that if I do, I'd be giving up and I can't." She looked away from Sam, fingering a leather cord necklace that was tucked into her shirt. "Sorry I freaked out on you guys this morning." She had jolted the both of them when she had woke up with a scream.

"You had a nightmare. It's fine." He murmured, getting the feeling that she was hurting more than she was willing to say.

"Sorry all the same."

"I have nightmares too." He admitted. "A lot lately."

"Me too." She said with a frown. "It sucks."

Dean came back to the car, a cigar hanging from his mouth.

"Breakfast?" He offered Sam, a bag of chips and a fountain drink under one arm.

"No, thanks." Sam looked back out of the open door. "So, how'd you pay for that stuff? You and dad still running credit card scams?"

"Yeah, well, hunting isn't exactly a pro ball career." Dean took the gas pump out of the car and put it back on the hanger before closing the gas door. "Besides all we do is oblige. It's not our fault they keep sending us the cards." Sam snorted and Riley laughed.

"And what names did you write on the application this time?" She asked him and he grinned at her.

"Uh, Burt Aframian and his son, Hector. We scored two cards out of the deal."

"Sounds about right." Sam scoffed and shook his head, and then he looked at the pile of tapes in his lap. "Man, you gotta update your cassette tape collection." Riley burst into laughter again and Dean looked confused.

"Why?" He asked a slight aggressive look on his face.

That made her laugh more. "God, Sam don't get him started."

Dean gave her a dirty look.

"Well for one they're cassette tapes." Sam scoffed and dug through the box in his lap. "And two…Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica? It's the greatest hits of mullet rock." Dean snatched the cassette out of Sam's hand.

"Yeah…" He drawled. "House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shot-gun and backseater shut their cake-holes." He tossed the cassette back into the box and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Hey!" Riley protested and Dean smirked at her in the mirror.

"You know "Sammy" is a chubby twelve-year-old. It's Sam okay?" Sam's mutters could barely be heard over Dean's pick of music ACDC's _Back in Black_.

"Sorry, I can't hear you. The music is too loud." Dean retorted and he gave a laugh before pulling out of the gas station.

* * *

Several hours later, they headed down the highway in silence, Sam calling local morgues and hospitals for John's whereabouts. Luckily, he wasn't in any of those so far, but the trio were worried about what that meant if wasn't. Where was he?

"…Thank you."

Riley caught the end of the conversation as Sam shut his phone.

"All right, so there's no one matching dad at the hospital or morgue. So that's something I guess." Sam told them and she sighed aloud with relief.

"That means that he's still on the case somewhere." She smiled a little and Sam did too.

"Hey, check this out." Dean pointed out a window as he pulled over to the side of the road. They saw several cop cars surrounding the edge of a suspicion bridge. He opened the glove compartment and dug through for the fake IDs that they would use today. He handed one to Sam and glanced at Riley, who waved her own at him.

"Got it covered."

Riley pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, lowering her head a bit to gather her hair. Dean found himself watching her in the rearview mirror, his gaze lingering on her cleavage.

"Can't believe you still have mine." Sam murmured and that tore him away from watching Riley for a second. She was sitting back up anyway.

"Of course I do." Dean smirked. "Knew you'd come back eventually."

He started to retort, but Dean was getting out of the car. Riley reached up and patted his shoulder.

"Let him have that one, Sam." She said quietly. "He's happy."

Sam nodded at her. "I know, I just don't want him to get his hopes up. I'm only in this for one job."

"Yeah." She sighed as he got out of the car and followed after him.

She stared at the bridge for a moment, swallowing nervously. She couldn't swim so bridges made her nervous. She couldn't let them see that though. To this day they never knew she couldn't swim and had a fear of drowning.

"Follow my lead, boys." She stated and slipped on a pair of fake glasses, tossed her red leather jacket on, and took out a pad and pen before giving her best "wide-eyed, innocent" look.

"Intern." She said simply and towards the police officers, her hips swaying from the high heels she was now wearing. Sam rolled his eyes as Dean's eyes landed on the blond in front of them, or more specifically on the bottom in front of them, and he elbowed him.

"What?" Dean asked defensively. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Just staring at her ass." Sam muttered and his brother smirked.

"Nice wasn't it?"

"Wha-No! Just-just no." He sputtered out, looking horrified. Dean laughed aloud and patted his brother on the back.

Sam rolled his eyes and they followed Riley across the bridge to the cops that were surrounding a car.

"You fellas had another like this just last month, didn't you?" Dean asked confidently when they got near the cops. Confidence was key for a good lie.

"And who are you?" An officer asked, looking a bit annoyed.

"Federal Marshals." Dean said, flashing his badge to the man.

"You two are a little young to be federal marshals, aren't you?" He asked, looking them over.

Dean laughed. "Thanks, that's awfully kind of you." He murmured and walked past. The officer looked at Riley, his eyes roaming her figure much to Sam's disgust.

"Who's she?" Dean heard the question and looked over at Riley, who was pretending to take notes of what was going on, tapping her mouth with the eraser of her pencil.

"Intern." He said simply before calling out to Riley. "Olsen!" The girl whipped her head around like she had been scolded.

"Sir?" She stated, scrambling over to stand next to Dean and sounding very much like the nervous intern she was pretending to be. Sam almost snorted. She definitely hadn't lost her touch. She was good at playing roles when they did cases and she was almost never caught. But it was because of her acting skills that she had been chosen to go on a case with Dean. The last case they had been on together...The night something went wrong between Riley and Dean.

"Yes, sir?" She said again, bringing him out of his thoughts. She pushed up her glasses with a finger nervously.

"Are you getting all this?" Dean barked at her and she nodded, almost jumping timidly. Nodding approvingly, looked back the officer with shrug. "Interns." He scoffed and then asked: "You did have another one just like this, correct?"

"Yeah, that's right. About a mile up the road. There's been others before that," The officer replied.

"So, this victim…you knew him?" Sam questioned and like the obedient intern, Riley followed him as he walked a bit.

"Town like this, everybody knows everybody."

"Any connection between the victims, besides that they're all men?" Dean asked walking around the car and Riley followed him, her pencil flying across the notepad. Sam almost smiled when she bumped into Dean's back as he came to stop. He sent her a look of annoyance with a hidden smirk and Riley stepped back, a fake flush to her cheeks or a real one, Sam wasn't sure.

"No, not so far as we can tell," The officer said, watching Riley too. Sam had to admit that the officer's ogling was a good means of getting answers. He wasn't so guarded about telling them anything.

"So what's the theory?" He asked.

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder? Kidnapping ring?"

"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys." Dean scoffed with his usual attitude and Sam stomped on his brother's foot, hard. Riley muttered behind him:

"Watch it, you big idiot."

"Thank you for your time." Sam said before starting to walk away with the other two following him. "Gentlemen."

Riley waved to the policemen. "Thank you very much, officers. Ya'll have a nice day." She called to them flirtatiously and Dean rolled his eyes before tugging her away from the men who waved at her. Once they were a good few feet away, Dean slapped the back of Sam's head.

"Ow! What was that for?" Sam hissed in pain.

"Why'd you have to step on my foot?" His brother retorted.

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?" He asked angrily and halted to a stop when Dean moved in front of him, so he could look him in the eye.

"Come on. They don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're going to find Dad we've got to get to the bottom of this thing ourselves."

Riley rolled her eyes. "You two better calm the hell down. There's a cop behind us."

Sam glanced over Dean's shoulder and they turned to look at the sheriff now standing before him. The sheriff was small, broad shouldered, and had a belly that Riley suspected held too many donuts. He gave them all a stare down along with two men that were standing on either side of him.

"Can I help you boys, young lady?" He asked and Riley frowned.

"No sir, we were just leaving." Dean replied as the two men passed by. They were dressed in black suits, white shirts and tie Riley gulped. They were real FBI. "Agent Mulder. Agent Scully." When they were good deal closer to the car and out of hearing range, Riley hit the back of his head.

"You are such a dork." She snorted and he smirked at her.

"Come on, you know that was a good one."

She just shook her head.

* * *

They drove into town and there they found a young girl wearing a deep brown leather jacket and dark brown hair that was pulled back in a messy ponytail. She was pinning posters to the outside of the local movie theatre.

"I bet you that's her." Dean stated and Riley smirked.

"Whatever gave you that idea?" She teased. Sam snorted and Dean sent them both glares as they walked up to the girl.

"Excuse me." Riley said taking charge before Dean could open his mouth. "Are you Amy?" The girl looked at her curiously and to the boys behind her before nodding.

"Yeah." She responded quietly and Riley sighed internally. She knew what it felt like to lose someone like that. Far too well in fact. Dean noticed that Riley had gone quiet suddenly and stepped forward.

"Yeah, Troy told me about you. We're his uncles. I'm Dean, this is Sammy, and this…is my girlfriend, Riley." Dean stated. She almost jumped as her waist was encircled by his arms, his grip firm, but surprisingly soft. If she hadn't been good at keeping face she would have freaked, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel how nice it was to be held like that, and a flush pinked her cheeks faintly.

"Yes, it's so nice to meet you." She made herself say to the girl in front of them, trying to ignore the feeling of him pressed against her back.

"He never mentioned you to me." Amy stated, turning away from the wall to face them fully.

"Well, that's Troy, I guess." Dean laughed. "We're not around much, we're up in Modesto."

"So, we're looking for him too, and we're kinda asking around." Sam stepped in, wanting to hurry this interrogation along.

"Hey, are you okay?"

A girl came up to Amy, her eyes looking over at the three strangers warily. Riley couldn't really blame her. _Small towners often stick up for each other._

"Would you mind if we ask you a couple of questions?" Riley asked the new girl and she nodded.

* * *

Riley wanted to shove Dean off the bench, but it wouldn't look very good for their image of a happy couple. He was sitting far too close, oblivious to the fact that she was uncomfortable. She shifted slightly, hoping to put a bit of distance between them. She needed the space and she needed to distance herself from him. Although it was a normal routine that she had often done, it was usually with Sam. Since they were closer in age, John would pair them on certain cases whenever the need arose. Only a handful of times had she and Dean had been the fake pair. The last time...the last case they had ever worked together on...Had been one of those cases.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about it.

"He didn't say anything strange, or out of the ordinary?" Sam asked and she got back into reality.

"No. Nothing I can remember." Amy replied.

"I like your necklace." Riley spoke up. She nodded at the pendant that the girl wore. It was a pentagram in a circle. Amy looked down at it and held it up to show her better as she murmured:

"Troy gave it to me. Mostly to scare my parents-" She laughed. "With all that devil stuff."

"Actually it means just the opposite," Sam interjected and Riley smiled. "A pentagram is protection _against_ evil. Really powerful. I mean, if you believe in that kind of thing."

Dean looked at Riley and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Thank you, _Unsolved Mysteries_." He shook his head at his brother, and got jabbed in the ribs sharply by the girl next to him.

"Don't be an ass." She muttered under her breath and Dean ignored her.

"Here's the deal, ladies." He said. "The way Troy disappeared, something's not right. So if you've heard anything..." Amy and Rachel looked each other at that and of course it didn't go unnoticed by the three hunters.

"What is it?" Dean asked and Riley looked at them in interest.

"Well it's just... I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk." Rachel said slowly.

"What do they talk about?" Sam and Dean asked almost excitedly at the same time. Riley snickered.

"It's kind of this local legend. This one girl? She got murdered out on Centennial, like decades ago. Well, supposedly she's still out there." Rachel said, looking a bit ready to agree if the three across from her didn't believe her story. She hardly believed it herself. "She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up? Well, they disappear forever." Riley looked at Sam and then at Dean. Now they had something.

* * *

"Where are the lights in here?" Riley muttered, plopping down in a seat on the other side of Dean. "How do they expect people to read in this cave?" Dean snorted and went back to typing as Sam looked over his shoulder. They were in the local library looking up what he could with the information they had just received.

"Female-Murder-Hitchhiking". Dean typed and hit enter. They waited as the little hourglass on the screen indicated it was searching and loading. It came back with zero hits much to their disappointment. Dean replaced the words with more "Female Murder Centennial Highway". Again, it was zero results.

"I'm bored." Riley pouted and Dean cast her a look. She gave him one back and went to browse the shelves.

"Let me try." She heard Sam say and then heard a loud smack. She rolled her eyes and turned around to see Sam glaring at his brother.

"I got it." Dean said snappishly and Sam shoved Dean's chair out of the way, rolling it towards Riley.

"Dude!" Dean exclaimed, punching Sam in the shoulder when he rolled back. "You're such a control freak."

Sam ignored him, typing quickly. "So angry spirits are born out of violent death, right?"

"Yeah," Dean answered, still pouting and Riley popped him on the head with a random book. He grabbed at her, but she step-sided him. "Watch it, Blondie."

She only smirked at him and Sam ignored the exchange.

"Well, maybe it's not murder." He muttered, typing again. "There was one article, dated April 25, 1981 titled "Suicide on Centennial."

"What's it say?" Riley asked curiously.

"This was 1981. Constance Welch, twenty-four years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river." The three of them glanced at the article, glancing at the picture.

"She was pretty." Riley murmured softly.

"Does it say why she did it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam answered. "An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Apparently her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die." Riley gasped.

"That's horrible." She said quietly.

Sam scrolled down to photos of a bridge and one of a man standing near it, his head resting in his hand.

"'Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it,' said husband Joseph Welch." He finished reading.

"That poor man." Riley stated.

Dean looked back at the photograph

"That bridge look familiar to you?" He asked and both Riley and Sam nodded. It was the same bridge where Troy's car had been found.

* * *

The moon lit their way over the bridge. Riley kept away from the edge, trying her best not to cling to Sam or Dean. She hated water. Actually, she was afraid of drowning in it. She liked ponds and creeks, well at least the ones that were relatively small. As long as she never had to get in them, she was fine.

"So this is where Constance took the swan dive." Dean stated the obvious as he leaned forward. Riley shook her head.

"You think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him." His big brother shrugged like it was nothing and he frowned.

"Okay, so now what?" He asked, trying to keep up with him. Riley's teeth chattered as she hurried to stay nearby.

"Now we keep digging until we find him. Might take a while."

Sam stopped walking and Riley sensed a fight coming on. "Dean, I told you, I've gotta get back by—" The older sibling turned around and Riley almost swore she saw a little regret in his eyes, but then again it was probably a trick of the moonlight.

"Monday. Right. The interview." He deadpanned with a straight face. He sounded neither ecstatic nor angry so Riley wasn't sure what he was thinking.

"Yeah." Sam said.

"Yeah, I forgot. You're really serious about this, aren't you? You think you're just going to become some lawyer? Marry your girl?" He was starting to show his temper.

"Dean, stop that." Riley said, looking from him to Sam. "Don't start this."

"Maybe. Why not?" Sam asked angrily, getting just as riled up.

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you've done?" He demanded.

"No, and she's not ever going to know." Sam said quietly and Riley sensed a storm coming.

"Well, that's healthy. You can pretend all you want, Sammy. But sooner or later you're going to have to face up to who you really are." Dean started walking again and with a frustrated look, Sam followed.

"And who's that Dean?" He asked and Dean looked at him.

"You're one of us."

He moved and got in front of Dean and took his arm, stopping him from walking. Riley bit her lip. _Here comes the confrontation._

"No. I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life." He snapped, trying to convince himself more than Dean.

"Well, you have a responsibility to—"

Dean was interrupted by Sam. "To Dad? And his crusade? If it weren't for pictures I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. And what difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, Mom's gone. And she isn't coming back." Dean's temper flared and he grappled Sam, shoving him against the railing of the bridge by the collar of his shirt. Riley grimaced, feeling her stomach lurch although she wasn't at the side of bridge. They were too close to the edge for her liking and Dean looked like he couldn't decide what to do with Sam.

"Don't talk about her like that." He muttered before shoving his brother and walking away. Riley sighed with relief that they were no longer near the railing and then gasped.

"Uh, guys? Might want to see this."

They turned around to see a lady in a tattered white dress, standing on the railing. The woman looked over at them, her long dark hair blowing in the wind. Riley gasped as suddenly she stepped off the railing and just like that the trance was over. Sam and Dean darted forward and Riley ran after them.

"Where'd she go?" Dean asked, looking over the railing. Riley stayed back from the edge.

"I don't know." Sam muttered. The Impala's engine suddenly roared to life, the headlights turning on to shine down the bridge at them and Riley jumped.

"Dean!"

He turned and frowned. "What the—" He started, wondering who in the hell got in his car.

"Who's driving your car?" Sam asked, warily. Without looking away from the precious car, Dean pulled his keys out of his pocket and jingled them in front of Sam. Just then the Impala jerked forward, roaring down the stretch of highway along the bridge. They stood frozen for a second before they knew that they were going to be hit.

"Go! Go! We've got to jump!" Sam called as they ran down the road, trying to get away from the car.

"What?! No, I can't!" Riley panicked. She would rather get hit by the car than jump into the water.

"You've got too!" Dean shouted over the roar of the car and pulled Riley sharply to the side of the railing, where he practically toted her over the side with him. A few seconds of free falling and they were submerged in the murky dark water below.

* * *

Sam clung to the underside of the bridge, looking frantically for his brother and Riley. He climbed up so that he was sitting on the railing and looked back at the water.

"Dean! Dean!" Sam yelled panicking. "Riley!"

Dean's eyes snapped open as he broke the surface of the water and he looked around before frowning. His brother was calling their names, but he couldn't answer him just yet. Then he spotted the girl, clinging to a nearby rock, trying to keep from floating down river.

"I gotcha, Blondie." He said and held his hand out towards her.

She stared at it a moment before letting him pull her towards him. She clung to his back as he made his way to the side of the river.

"Dean?!"

"What?" A tired reply came from below and Sam sighed with relief as a figure pulled itself out of the water, covered in mud as he inched up the embankment, another figure rolling off the first's back.

"Hey, are you and Riley all right?"

"I'm super." Came the reply from his brother and Sam snorted.

Dean wiped mud from his face before facing Riley.

"You all right?"

"Water is fudgin' cold." The girl scowled and he rolled his eyes.

"You all right?" He questioned again, not forgetting the panicked look from earlier.

"Yeah, I'll live." She told him, though her voice still had that slightly panicked pitch in it. "I can't swim." She admitted to him. She paused a moment and then looked at her bare feet. "And I lost my shoes." Dean snorted.

"Is the car okay?" Sam asked as Dean inspected his pride and joy.

"Yeah," He answered, closing the hood. "Whatever she did to it seems all right now." He looked crossly at the spot they had just went over and shouted: "That Constance chick, what a _bitch!"_

"I don't think she heard you." Riley retorted, wringing out her hair. Sam sent her an amused smirk before shaking his head.

"Well, she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure." He murmured and then he looked over at the muddy Dean. _"_ So where's the job go from here genius?" Dean only threw his hands in the air angrily.

Riley moved closer to them, trying and failing to wring out her clothing.

"You both smell like a toilet." Sam stated after a moment. Dean looked down at himself and Riley made a face, smelling her own hair.

"Eww!" She gagged and the boys snickered as she attempted to get the mud off.

"Time for a shower?"

"Oh, shut up. You smell just as bad if not more than usual."

Sam burst into laughter and Dean rolled his eyes.

* * *

They arrived at the local motel as the sun came up and went inside, heading right for the lobby desk. Riley attempted to keep from dirtying up the floor, but ended up just letting water run down her hair. There was no stopping it. Dean slid his credit card down on top of the desk clerk's magazine and smiled.

"One room please." He said lightly and the clerk looked at them with wide eyes. Riley and Dean looked a sight, but he knew better than to ask. Instead he just glanced down at the card.

"You guys having a reunion or something?" The clerk suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked from behind Dean. Riley frowned.

"That another guy, Burt Aframian. He came and bought out a room for the whole month."

Dean looked back at Sam and Riley, raising an eyebrow.

"John." Riley smiled with a whisper and Dean had to smile too. Her smile was contagious.

* * *

It didn't take long for Sam to pick the lock to "Burt's room". The yellow door swung open and he stood, stepping into the room with wariness. Dean, Riley saw, was playing look out, but he seemed to not have heard the door unlock. Riley, poked him roughly and when he turned, Sam grabbed the both of them and pulled them inside, shutting the door.

"Whoa." Sam and Riley breathed, taking in the entire room. Every inch of the motel walls were covered in some kind of paper, newspaper clippings, maps, pictures, and a whole lot of John's scribbles on post it notes stuck in random places. Dean reached for the light by the bed and turned it on. A half-eaten burger was sitting there and Riley protested when Dean held it up to sniff it.

"Dean!"

"I had to check, okay?" He said rolling his eyes. "I don't think he's been here for a couple of days at least."

Sam bent down to a line of salt ran a handful the salt through his fingers. Riley frowned.

"He was trying to keep something out." She stated and Sam nodded.

"Salt, cat's eye shells... he was worried. Definitely trying to keep something from coming in." He stated and then looked at Dean.

"What have you got here?" He asked, coming up behind him to see and Riley followed.

"Centennial Highway victims" Riley read and Sam followed her line of vision.

"I don't get it," Dean started, "I mean, different men, different jobs, ages, ethnicities. There's always a connection right? What do these guys have in common?" Sam left to look at the papers taped to other walls. His eye caught a note in John's handwriting said _Woman in White;_ it was stuck above a printout detailing Constance's suicide. Sam regarded this for a moment before turning on the desk lamp and illuminating sketches from old books. Each displayed a woman in a white dress, looking haggard and staring like she was lost.

"Dean?" Riley whispered and he turned his face to show he was listening. "Thank you…for you know."

"No problem…Just remind me to teach you how to swim, okay?"

"Um…we'll see about that." She muttered and he faced her fully.

"So…you're okay then?"

"I will be when I'm clean." She stated, eyeing her matted, filthy hair and he chuckled.

"Dad figured it out." Sam stated suddenly. Dean turned to look at him as did Riley.

"What do you mean?" He questioned.

"He found the same article we did. Constance Welch. She's a woman in white."

"You sly dogs." He muttered, glancing at the pictures. "All right, so if we're dealing with a woman in white, Dad would have found the corpse and destroyed it."

"She might have another weakness." Sam suggested.

"Well, Dad would want to make sure." He said frowning and crossing the room to Sam. "He'd dig her up. Does it say where she's buried?"

"No, not that I can tell. If I were Dad, though, I'd go ask her husband." He tapped the picture of Joseph Welch pinned to the wall. "If he's still alive."

"That's encouraging." Riley muttered much to Dean's amusement.

"Only one way to find out," said Sam.

"All right. Why don't you two, uh, see if you can find an address, I'm gonna get cleaned up." He said, heading for the bathroom door. He paused and looked at Riley. "Sorry I call dibs first."

"No fair!" She pouted and he smirked at her. Riley flounced away to look at the walls again.

"Hey, Dean?" Sam called out suddenly. Dean stopped before entering the bathroom, turning back. "What I said earlier, about Mom and Dad, I'm sorry." He apologized, holding his arms slightly out from him like he wanted a hug. Dean held up a hand to him.

"No chick-flick moments." He said. Sam laughed and nodded.

"All right. Jerk." He retorted.

"Bitch." Dean smirked. Sam laughed again as Dean disappeared into the bathroom.

A picture caught Riley's eye and she lifted it from the wall. It was one of her, at age seven, and Bobby. He had her in his arms, and she had been waving at the camera, while he tickled her. There was another one nearby it and it was other one of her tenth birthday. Sixteen-year-old Dean was making goofy faces, while twelve year old Sam was eating cake. John was hugging her and she remembered that Bobby had been holding the camera. That was when they had been on speaking terms.

Stuck into the frame of a mirror was a photo of John, Dean, and Sam. They had to have been younger than thirteen in the photo and they looked happy. Then Riley almost cried. There was her graduation picture on the mirror too. She hadn't known that John had ever gotten it. She took the photos off the mirror, holding them in her hands and she gave them to Sam.

"Why would he leave these?" He asked and Riley shrugged.

"I don't know…." She whispered and wiped at her face. Then she frowned. Dean was singing loudly in the shower about how he was using up the hot water and she'd never get her turn. Sam only snickered before looking at her bare feet.

"You have more shoes right?"

"Yeah, in the car." Sam nodded. "Err…so…" She gestured to the beds and Sam rubbed the back of his neck.

"You can sleep in that one. Dean and I can share…Might be less awkward."

"Okay…are you good with that? Because I can sleep elsewhere…"

"No, it's fine. Really. I don't think either of us will be getting much sleep." He said truthfully before sighing. "Riley…I've been meaning to ask you…."

"Yeah?"

"…What happened that night? With you and Dean. I never found out."

She shook her head. "Sam, its complicated. I'd rather not-"

"You guys went on a case together. I never found out what happened."

Riley glanced at the door before looking at Sam again.

"I can't, Sam. I've put it behind me and I'd rather not get into it right now."

"Dad and Bobby don't know either?"

"No. It's better if they don't."

"Riley…" He sighed. "Will you at least tell me why you're doing hunts alone?"

"I can do hunts by myself. I'm not incompetent."

"I know that." He nodded. "But you..."

"Something happened in that hotel room, Sam. It was...It was like stepping into a horror film. Something or somebody killed my friends. Murdered them. Like I told you before, daddy meant well. He tried to help me, but I couldn't let it go and I...It was my fault."

"There's more to it isn't there?"

"Yes." She looked down at her feet. "I was dating one of them."

Sam's eyes widened. "Oh...Riley, I'm so sorry. Who was he?"

"Yeah...Can I have the keys? I need to get my clothes out." She said quietly. deflecting, and Sam frowned.

"Here." He tossed her the keys and she smiled.

"Thanks." She left the room quickly and headed for the car without another word. Once she got there, Riley opened the door and grabbed her duffel bag. This was all she had left and if she lost anymore then it would be time to update her wardrobe. Riley looked back at the motel room and then lifted her necklace. A diamond ring glittered brightly in the streetlamp as she held up the necklace. There were two rings on it. The other was a high school class ring.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, touching the rings gently. She sucked in a breath, tucking the necklace away again. She couldn't think about this now. She locked the car back and went into the motel room. Sam smiled at her as she sat down waiting for the shower to turn off and she smiled back.

"Don't even think of coming out of there without any clothes on." Riley warned and Dean laughed evilly. He stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his lower half.

"What the hell did I just say?" She complained.

"You never said I couldn't walk around in a towel." He beamed at her and she covered her slowly reddening face as she stalked past him with her clean clothes and slammed the door to the bathroom closed. Sam shook his head as Dean continued to snicker.

"Dean…I think she's hiding something."

"Like what?" Dean asked, though he sounded like he could care less. Sam rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. I tried talking to her, but she's still holding something back."

"We all have secrets, Sammy." Dean muttered.

"Yeah, well some secrets shouldn't stay secret." Sam retorted back. Dean only frowned.

* * *

The next morning Sam paced the motel room floor, holding his phone to his ear as he listened to Jessica's message. With a sigh he sat down on the bed after a moment and eyed Riley who was braiding her long hair. She caught his eye and smiled. Dean came out of the bathroom, looked at Riley and crossed over to her, perching on the bed next to her. She frowned as the bed tilted and she kept her hands still so not to mess up her French braid. She was now wearing a pair of denim shorts and a dark green tank top.

"I'm starving." He whined in her ear and she half turned to glare at him crossly. "I'm going to grab something at that diner down the street. You want anything?"

"No."

"Come on…" He said as seductively as possible and Riley suppressed a shiver as his breath hit her ear. "How about some coffee? Aframian's buying."

"Fine, just get away." She stated, moving across the bed and flipping her braid behind her shoulder. Dean snickered at her before grabbing his freshly cleaned button up shirt from the bed and slipping it on. He gave Sam a wave before leaving the room.

* * *

"What?" Sam asked suddenly into his phone and Riley looked over at him. After a moment, he was slowly standing up. Realizing that something was wrong, she laced up her sneakers and stood up too. "What about you?" Riley went over to the curtains and peered out a bit.

"Cops." She muttered. There were deputies approaching Dean who had his back to them, talking to Sam on the phone. After a brief exchange with Dean the uniformed men glanced at the window of the motel room, Riley hiding along the edge of the window.

"They're coming." She stated and ran to grab her things as Sam scrambled to take everything he could. While he grabbed things, Riley ran and slammed open the bathroom window. "It's a good thing I lost those heels or this would be really difficult." She hissed, sliding out and jumping to the pavement below. Sam didn't comment, but followed her out of the room and down the back alley.

* * *

"Is this the Welch's place?" Riley asked, wrinkling her nose at the old worn down building in the middle of a junk yard.

"This is his address." Sam answered before rapping on the window. A second later, an old man opened the door, his face wary of what the two of them wanted.

"Hi, are you Joseph Welch?" Sam asked politely and Riley gave the old man a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," The older man confirmed, giving Riley a small smile back.

"We just have a few questions to ask you." She stated. "Do you mind?" Mr. Welch shrugged.

"It's all right I suppose." He stepped out of his house. "Let's take a walk. Don't like to do business on my porch." He led them through the junk yard and looked at them again. "What exactly is this about?"

"We wanted to know if you have you seen this man before." Sam showed him the picture of him, John, and Dean.

"Yeah, he was older, but that's him. He came by three or four days ago. Said he was a reporter." Joseph replied, glancing up from the picture to them.

"That's right. We're working on a story together." Sam said.

"Well, I don't know what the hell kinda story you're working on. The questions he asked me…" He paused, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"About your wife Constance?" Sam finished and the man nodded.

"He asked me where she was buried," Joseph said, looking at Riley now. "What kind of question is that to ask a person?"

"And where is that again?" Sam asked him and Mr. Welch frowned.

"What, I gotta go through this twice?" Suspicion lit up his eyes. "You have any idea how much talking about something like that hurts a person?"

"I'm very sorry, sir." Riley apologized quietly, she smiled sadly at Joseph. "It's just fact-checking. Routine questioning. We don't mean to cause you anymore pain. I can only imagine how awful it was to lose someone you love and have to relive it by talking about it." Sam regarded Riley, but she ignored the scrutiny.

"In a plot." Joseph's face softened as he answered them, taking Riley's apology to heart. "Behind my old place over on Breckenridge."

"And why did you move?" Sam asked.

"I'm not gonna live in the house where my children died." Joseph said with a sad tone and Riley bit her lip.

"That's understandable. Did you ever…remarry?" She asked.

"No way." Joseph stated. "Constance, she was the love of my life. Prettiest woman I ever known. I never want to forget that." Riley nodded.

"So you had a happy marriage?" Sam asked, and for a second he seemed to hesitate.

"Definitely." He finally answered.

"Well that should do it. Thanks for your time." Sam said slowly, turning back toward the Impala. Riley could practically see the gears turning in Sam's head.

"Mr. Welch, did you ever hear of a woman in white?" He asked suddenly on a hunch and Riley paused at the car door.

"A what?" The older man questioned, looking confused.

"A woman in white. Or sometimes a "weeping woman"." Sam continued. "It's a ghost story. Well, heh, it's more of a phenomenon really. Um, they're spirits. They've been sighted for hundreds of years, dozens of places, in Hawaii, Mexico, lately Arizona, Indiana." He walked back over to stand in front of Joseph. "All these are different women you must understand, but all share the same story."

"Boy, I don't care much for nonsense." Joseph said, turning on his heel and walking away from Sam. Riley frowned. The man was being a little guarded now. Sam pushed forward and she followed him, waiting to see Mr. Welch's reactions.

"See when they were alive, their husbands were unfaithful to them," Sam continued. "These women, basically suffering from temporary insanity...murdered their children." Joseph stopped walking and slowly turned to face them.

"Once they realized what they had done, they took their own lives. So now their spirits are cursed, walking back roads, waterways. And if they find an unfaithful man, they kill him. And that man is never seen again." Sam finished up and Mr. Welch's face took on a dark look, his eyes blazing with something that Riley could see was guilt.

"You think... you think that has something to do with Constance? You smart-ass!" The man said, looking ready to either yell at them or to start sobbing.

"You tell us." Riley murmured softly. Mr. Welch trembled slightly under heavy emotions.

"I mean, maybe...maybe I made some mistakes." He began. "But no matter what I did, Constance, she never would have killed her own children. Now, you get the hell out of here! And you don't come back!" He shouted, fighting back tears as he stalked away. Sam looked down at Riley to see her frowning after the man.

"You okay?" He asked and she nodded not looking at him. "We'd better get out of here."

"Hey, Sam…What are we going to do about Dean?" Riley asked as they pulled out of the junk yard and Sam looked at her with a grin.

* * *

"Do you think it worked?" Riley giggled. Sam smiled.

"I'm sure it did. That was quite a performance."

Riley had called the police stating there had been a shooting across town. If Sam hadn't been with her he would have assumed she was the one being shot at by how terrified she sounded. Sam's phone began to ring and Riley beamed.

"How much you want to bet that's him?" She asked and Sam laughed before answering the phone and putting it on speaker.

 _"Fake 911 phone call? Sammy, I don't know, that's pretty illegal."_ Dean's voice praised from the phone and Riley laughed.

"You're welcome." She said and Dean's laughter echoed from the phone.

 _"Listen, we gotta talk."_

"Tell me about it." Sam nodded. "So the husband was unfaithful. We are dealing with a woman in white. She's buried behind her old house, so Dad's next stop-"

 _"Sammy would you just shut up for a moment."_

"I can't figure out why he hasn't destroyed the corpse yet." Sam finished.

 _"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you."_ Dean interrupted. _"He's gone. Dad left Jericho."_

"What?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"How do you know?" Riley asked curiously.

 _"I've got his journal."_ He replied.

"He doesn't go anywhere without that thing." Sam said, frowning and Riley frowned too. Was John running from something?

 _"Yeah, well, he did this time."_ Dean replied

"What's it say?" Sam questioned.

 _"Ah, the same old ex-Marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going."_

"He gave you coordinates." Riley guessed.

"Righto, Blondie. But, I don't know where to yet."

"I don't understand. I mean what could be so important that dad would just skip out in the middle of a job? Dean, what the hell is going on?"

Riley suddenly gasped as a woman appeared in the road.

"Sam!" She screamed and Sam slammed on his breaks, tires squealing. The figure disappeared and they skidded to a stop.

 _"Sam? Sam!"_ Dean's voice came from the phone, but neither Sam nor Riley had the breath to answer him.

* * *

"Take me home." A voice said from behind him and Riley shrieked. Sam whipped his head up to look in the rear-view mirror.

"She's in the car…" He heard Riley whisper.

"Take me home." The woman in white said again.

"No." Sam told her. Suddenly Riley was evicted from the car. With a shriek she went flying out of the car and into the ditch. "Riley!" Sam yelled, but the car door was shut again and the car peeled off.

Spitting dirt, Riley lifted her head with a groan.

"Damnit." She got up from the ground, scowling. "You bitch!"

* * *

Luckily she didn't have to wait long for Dean to come down the road with a hotwired car.

"What happened to you? Get in a fight with a bush?" He smirked, rolling down the window. She was picking leaves and grass from her jacket and hair. A bloodied spot on the right side of her forehead.

"No, smart ass. The ghost ejected me from the car!" She got inside and he took off down the road. "She was driving Sam."

"Taking control of my car again." He grumbled, coaxing the old car faster. "Nobody takes my baby."

She just rolled her eyes before turning in her seat. "You found the bag I left you. Great." She pulled it into her lap and unzipped it, pulling out a sawed off shotgun and starting to load it.

"I'm pulling off here and we can walk the rest of the way. Don't want to let Casper know we're here."

Riley nodded and handed him the gun once he shut off the engine.

* * *

They walked in silence for several minutes until they came upon the house. The Impala's engine still purring. They could see Sam's outline in the car and when he start making pained noises, they sprang into action.

Dean raised his gun and without hesitation, shot the ghost of Constance Welch right in the face, unfortunately breaking the window of his car.

Sam gasped in air, looking a little pale-faced.

"Sam, you-" Riley began, but suddenly Sam glared at the house.

"I'm taking you home!" He exclaimed before slamming on the gas and busting through the house with the Impala.

Riley looked at Dean. "Guess that's one way to make her go home."

He rolled his eyes and they hurried inside to check on Sam.

"Sam?" Dean called running through the wreckage.

"Here." Sam mumbled.

"You okay?" He asked Sam who was struggling to get out of the car. Dean wrenched open. "Can you move?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. "Can you help me?"

Dean leaned across the seat and took his brother's hand, easing him out of the car. Once he was sure that Sam was okay.

Riley turned her head and froze.

"Dean." She said almost in audibly and the boys turned. Constance was staring at them and before they could react she sent a bureau sliding across the floor and pinned them to the car, making them groan.

The lights flickered to life suddenly and Constance looked confused a bit frightened. Water began pouring down the staircase behind her and she turned around to coming closer to it. At the top of the stairs were a little boy and girl. Slowly they joined hands and spoke in unison:

"You've come home to us Mommy."

Constance turned away in fear, but the children were now behind her, wrapping their arms around her. She screamed, her white light flickering as they held her tightly. A pulse of energy surged through the room then, causing the house to shake. The three ghosts began to melt into a puddle them melt into a puddle before draining away into the ground. The bureau eased up and they shoved it out of the way.

"So this is where she drowned the kids." Dean said, standing over the wet spot in the wooden floor.

"That's why she could never go home. She was too scared to face them." Riley added with a nod.

"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean laughed and patted him on the chest where he'd been injured. Sam laughed painfully.

"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?" He snickered and Riley laughed too.

"Hey. Saved your ass." Dean responded before probing Riley's head. There was a spot of blood from when she had flew to of the car and hit the ground. "All right, Blondie?"

"Ow, yeah that hurts. Stop touching it." She said and pushed his hand away.

"I'll tell you another thing. If you screwed up my car," Dean turned to look at Sam with a warning. "I'll kill you."

Sam just laughed.

* * *

"Ouch that freakin' hurts, Sam!" Riley hissed and Sam pulled his hand back.

"Sorry, but it's a deep cut."

"Do you have to press so hard?"

"Stop whinin' Blondie." Dean snickered as Sam turned back around in his seat.

"Hey, you didn't get evicted from a car like cartoon character. I get to whine." Sam snickered and Dean smirked.

"Sure, sure."

"Okay. So the coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, Colorado." Sam informed them, and his brother nodded. Riley leaned forward.

"How far is that?" She asked.

"About 600 miles."

"Hey, if we shag ass, we could make it by morning." Dean was smiling now and Riley saw Sam freeze. Uh-oh. She leaned back wondering what was going to happen now. Would they continue not speaking to each other?

"Dean, um, I..." Sam stuttered to get the words out and Dean sighed.

"You're not going." He said quietly.

"The interview's in like 10 hours. I gotta be there."

"Yeah. Yeah, whatever." Dean's wall was back up again. The feigned indifference. "I'll take you home." Dean's eyes met Riley. "I suppose you want to bail too."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." She smirked and he chuckled.

* * *

Hours later they were in front of Sam's apartment building again. Riley climbed out of the car to hug Sam.

"I'll miss you." She whispered in his ear and pulled back with tears in her eyes. "Don't be a stranger. Call me some time."

"I will." He laughed.

"I'm going to get my car." She told Dean. "Meet you in five?"

"You bet." He nodded and she dashed across the road.

Sam leaned in the open window, his forearms resting on the window ledge as he looked at his brother.

"You'll call me if you find him?" He asked Dean.

Dean nodded, silent.

"And maybe I can meet up with you later, huh?" He tried again.

"Yeah, all right." He replied, his voice doubtful and a little moody. Sam patted the door twice and gave his big brother one last look before walking away.

Dean suddenly leaned to call out the window.

"Sam?" He called out. Sam turned to look back. "You know, we made one hell of a team back there."

Sam smiled sadly. "Yeah, we did." He almost wished that the feeling he got being back working with his brother would last. Dean watched his brother disappear inside, before waiting for Riley.

* * *

After waiting a while, he noticed Sam's building. There were black tendrils of smoke coming from the windows and he could see the flames.

"Sam!" Dean was running across the ground and towards the apartment in seconds.

In the second most terrifying scene in his entire life, Dean was once again lugging his brother out of a burning building.

Sam coughed against his brother's neck while hanging onto him.

"Jess." He said softly and Dean sighed, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"I know, man."

"Riles?"

"Still at her car I gue-"

Sam and Dean both jolted as the sound of an explosion came from nearby.

"Dean...Riley's car." Sam whispered and exchanged looks of horror with his brother.

"Blondie!"

They hurried as fast as they could, rounding the building to where Riley had parked. Her car was burning intense hot flames and the boys ran over carefully.

"Riley!?" Dean called, looking around and he spotted her. She lay a few feet away, looking relatively unharmed. A few scrapes and bruises here and there, but nothing life threatening.

"Riley, Riles." Dean took her face in his hands. "Blondie."

She moaned slightly, eyes fluttering open. "D'n?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Smelt...gas...car was fine. Checked good..." She whispered and winced.

"Take it easy. We've got to go... We can't stay here."

Dean helped her to her feet and she swayed. Sam got on the other side of her and helped Dean haul her back towards the front. They headed towards Dean's car, each of them processing what had just happened in their own way. Sirens began to wail in the night and Sam flinched.

* * *

An hour later, Dean watched the fire trucks, firemen, medics, and policemen work around the building, from among the spectators.

Riley was comforting Sam the best she could.

"Shh." She said, hugging the much taller figure to her. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay." Sam leaned against her as they stood by the car, his body sort of covering hers by his height. She stroked his shaking back, glancing at Dean whose eyes were focused on the flaming building. His green eyes were filled with terror and for once he wasn't trying to hide it.

He had almost lost his little brother the same fiery flames his mother had been killed in. Sam would never know how scared Dean really was. His eyes landed on hers. The same terror was aimed at her and she felt Sam hug her tighter. She had almost died too. He released her slowly, going to the car and Riley turned to Dean.

"You okay?" She asked softly and Dean didn't answer. She didn't expect him too.

Both turned at a sound to see Sam loading a shotgun.

"Sam?" Dean asked and Sam gave his brother a haunted, yet determined, look.

"We got work to do." He declared and shut the trunk.

"Sam, are you sure about this?" Riley asked. He only sighed and met her gaze with a look of pure heartache. She nodded at him that she understood and when he walked away she looked at Dean. He met her eyes with a saddened look of his own.

"We better go." He said quietly and she nodded.

* * *

 _REVIEW?_


	2. Wendigo

Chapter 2: Wendigo

It had been a week since the Jessica incident and things were relative uneasy. Sam was becoming more and more withdrawn. Prone to snap or space out at random times. Not that Riley blamed him. Jessica's death had been cruel and horrible and having witnessed it... It was a wonder how Sam was even functioning.

As if to remind her of her own inner turmoil, a dull throb of pain began in her temple. It had happened when the car had exploded, her head had smacked the pavement hard enough to make her see stars, and leaving behind darkened bruises and scratches. Now it hurt every now and then, pulsating through her skull.

Riley gazed out the window, brow furrowed as she watched the trees pass by. The look didn't go unnoticed. Dean had been watching her and Sam closely the last few days.

"Hey."

She turned to see Dean looking at her in the rearview mirror. "What?"

"You all right?"

She shrugged. "I was just thinking...This whole situation is weird. That's the thing that John's been after all these years and it just shows up out of the blue..."

He frowned too. "I know." His hands tightened on the wheel briefly. "How are you doing? Your head is hurting you again." That last bit wasn't a question. He knew her tells almost as well as Sam, even if they hadn't been on hunts together in years.

"You mean almost being blown up?" She retorted and then sighed. " My head still bothers me, but it's not that bad. If I had been closer...Nothing was wrong with that car, Dean. It wasn't in prime condition. But still...It just went off like someone put a bomb in it."

Dean glanced back at her, trying not to show how worried he was. "I'm sure when we find Dad, he'll have answers."

"I hope so. I left him a voicemail about Sam." She murmured. "No answer of course, but I wanted him to know about this thing."

"Did you talk to Bobby?"

She sighed. "Yeah, he wasn't happy of course, but once I told him I was working with you two he cheered up awful fast."

Dean snickered.

"And he wants you to call him sometime." She rolled her eyes. "He wants an update on me I'm sure." She looked back out the window before looking at Sam when he jerked awake.

"Are you okay, Sam?" She asked him and he nodded at her.

"Yeah."

She decided not to mention his shaky tone. Nightmares were a touchy subject for her as well. No one needed to know what she had been seeing lately. The same thing on an endless loop. Mangled corpses and blood staining the walls and floor. Her own screams echoing throughout the motel room. The dark symbol on the wall, painted with drying blood...

"Another nightmare?" Dean inquired and Sam nodded.

"You wanna drive for a while?" He asked casually and Sam whipped his head around to look at his brother in disbelief.

"Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." He scoffed.

"Just thought you might want to. Never mind." He stated, looking back at the road. "How about you, Blondie?"

"No, thanks. If I even so much as touch the wheel, you'll freak out." Riley tapped the back of his seat and said in a deep announcer's voice: "Go for it, Sam. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Sam laughed at her and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Look. You're both worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

Riley shrugged. "Okay then."

"Mmhm." Dean hummed and Sam sighed before reaching forward and taking a hold of the map on the dashboard.

"All right, where are we?" He asked, looking for the location on the map.

"We are... just outside of Grand Junction." Dean tapped the wheel with his fingers.

Riley moved forward again. "Want some chocolate?" She asked, waving a bar at the brothers. Sam shook his head.

"No, thanks."

"You raid the whole store?" Dean smirked and she snorted.

"I happen to like chocolate."

"So do I." He said with a wicked grin and quick as a flash he had her wrist and bit off some of her chocolate bar.

She stared at him a moment in shock before scowling. "Ugh! You jerk! Eat your own!" He started snickering and she glared at him. Sam shook his head at them and pulled the map back across his lap. He couldn't help but feel comfortable by their familiar bickering.

Riley wiped her hand off on a napkin. "You are _disgusting_."

"You offered." He smirked, licking the chocolate off his lips.

She scrunched up her nose and opened her mouth to respond.

"You know what? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon." Sam sighed quietly and regained their attention.

"Sam, we dug around there for a week." Dean countered softly with a small sigh of his own. "We came up with nothing. If we want to find the thing that killed Jessica-And the thing that tried to blow up, Riley-"

"We gotta find Dad first." Sam finished with a frown and looking unconvinced and Dean knew it.

"Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after 20 years? It's no coincidence." He said.

"John will have answers." Riley said aloud from the back seat. "He always does."

"See? Confidence." Dean grinned at Sam who shook his head.

"It's just weird," He said after a minute. "These coordinates he left us. This Blackwater Ridge."

"What about it?"

"There's nothing there. It's just woods. Why is he sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Riley looked back out the window. "Knowing, John...There's a reason."

Sam nodded and folded the map back up. "Just wish he'd tell us."

Riley nodded in agreement, but she didn't say anything else. John was up to something, but what? A whole new hunting exercise? It was a little extreme, but not entirely unusual for John Winchester.

* * *

At the local Ranger Station, Riley and Sam stood in front of a 3D map of the national park. Reaching out with one hand, Sam pointed to a section of the map labeled Blackwater Ridge.

"So Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by these canyons here," Sam moved his hand to indicate the areas he was talking about, "Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place." He rested his hands against the side of the table holding the map, and let out a long, deep breath.

Dean was behind them looking at the miscellaneous tourist attractions in the ranger station. He was standing in front of an old photograph on the wall.

"Dude, check out the size of this friggin' bear!" He called out and Riley rolled her eyes.

"Way to pay attention, sport."

"No, seriously come look at this." He stated and with a sigh Riley and Sam went over to him.

"And a dozen or so grizzlies in the area." Sam murmured to finish his observation from earlier. "It's no nature walk, that's for sure."

"Great." Riley muttered.

Dean snickered and wrapped an arm around Riley playfully and she eyed him.

"What's the matter? Too dainty for a forest?"

"No," She rolled her eyes. "I don't mind the hiking…just the wildlife."

"You lot aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" A voice sounded behind them and Riley jumped.

"Crap."

Dean snickered at her under his breath and she kicked his leg.

Sam rolled his eyes at them before facing the man who had spoken. The man in front of them was one of the older local rangers.

"Oh, no, sir," He said quickly. "We're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper."

"Recycle, man." Dean pumped a fist in the air and Riley elbowed him and gave the ranger a wide smile. Sam shook his head.

"Bull," The ranger said with a smirk, causing the three across from him to look uncomfortable. "You're friends with that Hailey girl, right?" He said, before anyone could come up with something to say.

"Yes." Dean stepped in, lying quickly. "Yes we are, Ranger…" He leaned forward to peer at the man's nametag. "Wilkinson." The ranger nodded and then looked at the three of them with a bit of warning in his eyes.

"Well I'll tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the 24th, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" He took a sip from his coffee mug and waited for the protesting which was sure to come, but it never came. Riley shook her head. "You tell that girl to quit worrying, I'm sure her brother's just fine."

Dean nodded this time. "We will. Well, that Hailey girl's quite a pistol, huh?" He added as the ranger walked away.

" _That_ is putting it mildly," The man agreed and Dean smiled.

"Actually, you know what would help is if we could show her a copy of that permit. You know, so she could see her brothers return date for herself." The ranger nodded and then went to the back room to make a copy.

"Jumpy much?" He teased the blonde behind him.

"Oh, shut up." She scowled.

"That's okay, you can jump me anytime." He winked at her and Riley rolled her eyes.

"In your dreams." She huffed and smacked his arm.

"Every night, sugarpie." He smirked and she glared at him, cheeks reddening when he turned his back on her. Sam snorted at the pair of them before seeing Riley's flushed cheeks and he raised an eyebrow curiously. The ranger came back in and handed the paper to them.

"I hope you talk some sense into that girl." He told them and Riley smiled at him.

"We'll try, sir."

* * *

"Oh, yeah." Dean laughed as he folded the paper on the way out of the ranger station. Sam, slightly annoyed, moved forward.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" He all but accused and Dean looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge. So what are we waiting for? Let's go find Dad." He stated quickly, his voice full of agitation.

Riley watched the pair of them, not daring to voice her own opinion. She agreed with Sam as to heading straight to the woods, but on the other hand...She had a gut feeling that they had a case. Something John had to have been working on. Maybe they needed to speak to this Hailey girl.

"I mean, why even talk to this girl?" Sam continued. Dean walked around to the driver's side of the car and looked back at Sam over the top. Riley waited behind Sam.

"I don't know, maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it." Dean said with a 'duh' like attitude and stared at Sam like he was someone else. Sam stared back.

"What?" He said finally in irritation.

"Well, since when are you all "shoot first, ask questions later" anyway?" The eldest Winchester brother asked, curiously.

"Since now." Sam grunted and opened the back door. "You can ride in the front this time." He told Riley who just nodded.

"Oh, really?" Dean asked in amusement and looked at Riley. She was looking a little sympathetically at Sam and there was something in her gaze that confused him as well as intrigued him. She caught him looking and shrugged at him.

* * *

Dean knocked on the door to the address on the permit. The door was opened by a girl that looked around Riley's age with dark shoulder length curls, tanned skin and had the attitude of a girl who doesn't take anything from anyone. Riley wasn't sure she'd like this girl who was peering at them from behind the screen door that was still shut.

Dean was sure _he_ liked her.

"You must be Hailey Collins." He said stepping forward with Riley and Sam standing behind him. "I'm Dean, this is Sam and Riley." He gestured to each as he mentioned their name. "We're rangers with the Park Service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. He wanted us to ask a few questions about your brother Tommy."

"Let me see some ID." Hailey said without hesitation. Dean showed her his fake ID and the girl looked at it intently. _Smart girl_ , Riley thought. After a few seconds, she opened the screen door. "Come on in." She pushed on the door to let them by.

"Thank you." Riley stated and Hailey nodded before she spotted the Impala.

"That yours?" She asked with interest.

"Yeah." Dean answered smugly. He was proud of his car. Sam looked at Riley who rolled her eyes.

"Nice car." Hailey said walked inside, leaving them to follow. Dean mouthed something to Sam and walked inside. Riley frowned but followed the brothers into the house.

There was a teen with short buzz cut hair at the dinner table, messing with his utensils and he glanced at Riley while she looked at the house with interest.

"So if Tommy's not due back for a while, how do you know something's wrong?" She asked as Hailey came into the kitchen with a bowl.

"He checks in every day by cell." Hailey replied and set the bowl down on the table. "He emails photos, stupid little videos. But we haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"Well, maybe he can't get cell reception." Sam suggested sounding impatient.

"He's got a satellite phone too." Hailey responded before heading back into the kitchen.

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean asked.

"He wouldn't do that," The teenager at the table all but snapped at Dean. He eyed the young boy who looked away with a frown. Hailey came back in from the kitchen carrying another bowl of food before anyone could say a word.

"Our parents are gone. It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

"Can I see the pictures he sent you?" Sam asked.

Hailey nodded. "Yeah." She opened her laptop and clicked on a folder, turning the computer around for them to view.

"That's Tommy," Hailey, pointing to a photo of a smiling, good looking guy sitting in a tent.

"What about the last video?" Riley asked. She nodded and clicked through the pictures to the video in question.

 ** _"Hey Hailey, day six, we're still out near Blackwater Ridge."_** Tommy's voice came through, he was relaxed and calm ad looked as if he was settling in for the night. **" _We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."_**

Riley watched Sam's face and recognized the look in his eyes. He had found something interesting. He locked eyes with her and she nodded subtly.

"Well, we'll find your brother." Dean told the girl. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge first thing."

"Then maybe I'll see you there." She countered airily, walking past to stand behind her younger brother with a determined look. The boys exchanged looks. That didn't sound good to either of them. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore. So I hired a guy. I'm heading out in the morning, and I'm gonna find Tommy myself."

"I think I know how you feel." Dean said thoughtfully and Riley glanced at him, hiding a smile. Of course he did. Dean had always looked out for Sam and always would. If Sam was in trouble, his brother would be there in no time flat. That's how it always had been.

"Hey, do you mind forwarding these to me?" Sam asked suddenly, pointing to the videos.

"Sure," Hailey said with a shrug, though she looked confused.

* * *

Riley sipped her beer, trying to ignore the leers of the men on the opposite side of the room as she walked over to Dean. They were at one of the small tables, and Sam was digging through his shoulder bag.

"Don't let anyone card ya youngin'." Dean teased and she kicked his chair with a smirk.

"Shuddup. I've got a card." She flashed it to him and he smirked.

"Bobby know about that?"

"Who do you think made it?"

He snorted into a laugh and she smirked at him.

"So, Blackwater Ridge doesn't get a lot of traffic." Sam interjected, pulling his chair up to the table and showing them his laptop. "Local campers, mostly. But still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found." He opened his that all the data he had collected and started flipping through some newspaper articles.

Riley smiled. Sam was the best at researching. It was usually thanks to him that they weren't killed on hunts. Although once or twice John had ignored the information and there were bad results. Nearly fatal results. John hadn't argued with him much after that. At least not on hunts.

"Any before that?" Dean asked, taking a sip of his beer and eyeing the nachos that Riley was munching on. She smiled at him and held out the basket for him to grab and he took it happily. That was the thing about Riley; Dean could always guarantee some food from her. She never seemed to finish anything, but that was her own rule. Never be too full when on a hunt.

"Yeah, in 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And again in 1959, and again before that in 1936."

Sam clicked through pages on the laptop. "Every 23 years, just like clockwork." He typed something and then frowned. "Okay, watch this. Here's the clincher. I downloaded that guy Tommy's video to the laptop. Check this out." He pressed a button and leaned back to show them the video that Hailey had sent him. Doing a frame by frame, he slowed the video down by seconds.

"Do that again." Dean said, focusing on the video, while Riley frowned. Sam repeated the frames and she gasped when she saw the shadow move.

"How many frames?" She wondered aloud.

"That's three frames. That's a fraction of a second." Sam murmured and glanced at his two companions. "Whatever that thing is, it can move." Dean punched him on the arm.

"I told you something was going on!" He chuckled. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Yeah." He muttered and put his laptop away. "I got one more thing."

"What is it?" Riley asked curiously, leaning forward slightly across Dean who looked at her once before looking back at Sam.

He placed newspaper article on the table. "In '59 one camper survived this supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid. Barely crawled out of the woods alive." Sam's eyes were now sparkling with excitement of a mystery. Dean looked at the article before looking up. Riley was biting her lip.

"Is there a name?" He asked and Sam was about to answer when someone came to their table.

"Here, sugar." Riley looked up as a waitress replaced her beer with another. Riley frowned.

"I didn't pay for another one."

"It's already paid for. Courtesy of that guy." She smiled and nodded towards the bar. A guy with short blond hair nodded to her and Riley raised the glass to him with a halfhearted smile. Dean frowned, trying to see the guy at the bar, but his gaze was blocked by people playing pool.

Riley finished off the drink and Sam tilted his head.

"You okay?"

She seemed nervous all the sudden.

"Yeah...It's just weird. John knew there was a case here and once again it's like we're behind a few steps. Is he playing a game and we have to catch up or what?"

Sam frowned at her obvious dodge of the question. "I don't know. I don't get it either." He glanced at his watch and looked at Dean. "Hey, let's go."

"Huh? Oh...Sure." Dean stated and though he wasn't sure who was at the bar giving Riley drinks, he made sure to walk close to her as they made their way out of the bar. He didn't know why but he just didn't like that.

"Personal space, Winchester." Riley told him and elbowed him in the ribs on the way out. He rolled his eyes.

* * *

Shaw, the sole survivor, led the trio of "rangers" through his one-bedroom apartment. He didn't seem to mind the reasoning they had for coming over this late at night and Riley guessed that the man felt lonely and isolated. Exactly how anyone would feel after surviving something so horrible.

"Look, ranger, I don't know why you're asking me about this." He began. "It's public record. I was a kid. My parents got mauled by a-"

"Grizzly?" Sam interrupted. "That's what attacked them?" Shaw took a puff of his cigarette nodding slowly as he turned to face them. They could tell that he didn't actually believe that.

"The other people that went missing that year, those bear attacks too?" Dean asked, wanting him to tell him what they were waiting to hear. That it wasn't a bear attack. Shaw looked down, refusing to say anything.

"What about all the people that went missing this year? Same thing?" Dean pressed again, stepping closer and Riley followed him.

"If we knew what we were dealing with, we might be able to stop it." She said quietly. "Please, sir, if you know anything tell us…it could save lives." Shaw looked up at the sound of her voice and regarded her.

"I seriously doubt that, little lady." He chuckled humorlessly, slowing settling down in his chair. "Anyways, I don't see what difference it would make. You wouldn't believe me." He reached for a glass on the table in front of him. "Nobody ever did," He sighed.

Sam moved to sit in the chair across from Mr. Shaw and looked at him.

"Mr. Shaw," Sam coaxed. "What did you see?"

"Nothing." He said finally, the fear showing clearly in his eyes and Sam nodded for him to continue. "It moved too fast to see. It hid too well. I heard it, though." He frowned, recalling the sound. "Like a roar. Like... no man or animal I ever heard." Dean felt Riley shift uneasily beside him.

"It came at night?" Sam asked, thinking back to the video. Shaw nodded. "Got inside your tent?"

"It got inside our _cabin._ " Shaw corrected, glancing up at Dean and Riley. "I was sleeping in front of the fireplace when it came in. It didn't smash a window or break the door. It _unlocked_ it _._ Do you know of a bear that could do something like that?" He asked. The trio exchanged worried looks. "I didn't even wake up until I heard my parents screaming."

"It killed them?" The brothers heard Riley whisper. Shaw looked at her.

"Dragged them off into the night." He clarified. Dean glanced at the floor thinking hard and Riley began to worry her bottom lip in thought. A few things it could be, the description didn't exactly narrow it down to one particular monster. "Why it left me alive...been asking myself that ever since." Shaw finished with sadness. "It did leave me this, though." He pulled back the collar of his shirt to reveal four thick, massive long scars across his left shoulder and collar bone. Claw marks. Sam and Dean tensed at the sight. He tried to think of what had caused such a mark.

Shaw gave them a haunted look. "There's something evil in those woods. It was some sort of demon." The word demon made Riley flinch and Dean felt her bump his arm.

"Um, thank you for your time." She told the man quickly and edged towards the door.

* * *

"Spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors," Dean spoke as they walked through the halls of Shaw's apartment building and back to the car. "If they want inside, they just go through the walls."

"So it's probably something else, something corporeal." Sam said and his brother smirked.

"Corporeal"? Excuse me professor." He chuckled and Riley smirked.

"Shut up." Sam rolled his eyes. "So what do you think?"

"The claws, the speed that it moves... could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog. Whatever we're talking about, we're talking about a creature... and it's corporeal. Which means we can kill it." He stalked off ahead of them and Sam looked at Riley.

"So…"

"Sorry about that. I've been on a few demon hunts over the years that you guys were gone. Most didn't end well. They are a whole other breed of monster." She took his arm. "You can't tell Dean, Sam. He'll try to send me away if he thinks I can't handle this."

"I know you can do the job." He told her, shaking his head. "I was just worried about you."

She nodded. "I know...Truthfully...I was pretty close to a no hunting life."

Shocked, Sam's jaw dropped. "You? really?"

"Yeah, well...I met a guy...It was great." She smiled at the memory before turning to him. "You almost had that too and I'm so sorry, Sam." She looked over to see Dean rummaging through the trunk of the Impala.

"Trust me. I can still do the job…"

"Was he one of the ones that...died?"

She turned back to Sam, a haunted look in her eyes. "Yes." She said softly. Sam glanced at her now understanding how she knew just the right things to say to him about Jessica. About missing someone so much and the drive to find out who had killed her. She felt the same.

They walked across the road and she stopped at Dean's side.

"Hey." He greeted her and she smiled at him. He frowned at her hardly existent smile. "What?"

"Nothing." She said quickly and ducked her head, looking down into the trunk with him. Dean rolled his eyes. "Need some help?"

"Yeah, sure." He responded, still eyeing her every once and a while. Something had upset her. "Hand me all those in the corner back there." She nodded and reached into the trunk.

"You still know how to shoot right?" He teased after a moment and she looked at him with a 'are you kidding me?' look.

"Duh."

"Sassy pants." He smirked and she stuck her tongue out at him.

He would never tell her, but it was so great to have her and Sam there with him. He couldn't imagine trying to find John on his own. And he had missed them...Having them back was like the old days. At least somethings never changed.

Sam approached them and she ducked back down into the trunk, hoping that he wouldn't mention the conversation they had just had.

"We cannot let that Hailey girl go out there." He said to Dean who didn't stop what he was doing which was tossing some ammo boxes into the bag along with the guns.

"Oh yeah?" He said casually, looking up. "What are we gonna tell her? That she can't go into the woods because of a big scary monster?"

"Well, yeah." Sam stated. Dean straightened up and turned to stare at his brother with a, for once, serious look.

"Her brother's missing Sam." He said gravely. "She's not just gonna sit this out. No, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend."

"Fuzzy predator friend?" Riley asked, trying to ease the tension and Dean smirked at her as he grabbed the duffel bag and gave it a sling over one shoulder before slamming the trunk shut.

"You can name it, when we find it." He told her and she shook her head with a wrinkle of her tiny nose.

"No, thanks." She stated and Dean snickered. Sam tapped his shoulder.

"Finding Dad's not enough?" He asked in frustration. He was getting more and more agitated as they went. All he wanted to do was find his father, but with these distractions… "Now we gotta babysit too?" He finished. Dean just stared at him and after a second, his temper rose again. "What?!"

"Nothing." Dean said tossing the duffel bag at him and making him wince. Why should he say anything? It wasn't as if Sam ever listened.

"Guys, seriously?" Riley looked from one brother to the other and they stared at her. "Sam, I understand what you're saying, but John gave us a job and as much as I don't like when innocents get involved, Dean's right. Hailey will not sit idly by any longer. She wants to find her missing brother. If we're with her, then maybe we can prevent more casualties. And you know she'll show up. We can't stop her."

Sam opened his mouth and then sighed. "Yeah, all right."

Dean sent her a smug smile as his brother got into the car.

"Knew you were on my side."

"Don't let it go to your head." She remarked before climbing into the car. He only snorted in response.

* * *

"It's so beautiful out here." Riley smiled as Dean drove them through the park trail. She had the window rolled down and her, what Dean called "Laura Ingalls" braids, whipping in the wind. "Thanks for switching seats with me, Sam." Sam couldn't help but grin at Riley's enthusiasm.

"You're welcome." He told her.

Dean gave her a wicked grin. "You just wanted to sit by me." He told her and she turned her head to look at him.

"Oh yeah that was definitely it." She toned and he almost laughed. She was so cute riled up. _Cute? Did I just think that?_ Dean wondered and tried to clear his head. "I just wanted to get a good look at where we are going."

"Well, there she is…" She spoke up again and Sam leaned forward to see what she was talking about. Sure enough, there was Hailey, her brother Ben, and a man who was pulling stuff out of his truck. Hearing them, Hailey turned to look with a raised eyebrow.

Riley got out of the car first, pulling her tan hiking jacket on over her white long sleeve shirt, it was so bulky that it covered most of her shorts, and taking out a backpack that she had filled with supplies last night. Sam followed her, carrying the duffel bag.

"You guys got room for three more?" Dean asked casually, shutting his door and walking up to them. Riley shifted the bag on her shoulder, watching the girl look at them warily.

"Wait, you want to come with us?" Hailey asked in disbelief. Riley figured she must have thought they were there to stop them.

"Who are these guys?" The man behind Hailey asked, looking the newcomers over. The guy's eyes widened as he took in the blond that walked up with the guys and Riley sucked in a breath when their eyes met. _Oh, shit._

"Apparently this is all the park service could muster up for the search and rescue." Hailey replied with a smirk.

"You're rangers?" The guy asked and his eyes were glued to Riley.

"That's right." Dean replied with a bit of attitude.

The group could tell that these two were going to buttheads. Riley and Sam exchanged eye rolls.

* * *

The man walked up to Riley while she was re-lacing her boots against a tree. The others were standing around waiting to start the hike.

"I'm Roy." He said causally, and she sighed internally.

"Riley." She offered reluctantly.

"You know, I was surprised to see you last night. I didn't know rangers drank." She looked up to see him eyeing the top of her shirt and she frowned.

"I didn't know hunting guides tried to flirt with girls at a bar." She quipped back and tugged her coat tightly around her body.

"Touché." Roy stated with a grin and his gaze lifted to her face. "Well, I am glad to see you again. By the way, I love the braids." He smirked and she frowned.

"Look, let's get one thing straight right now," She stated, putting her leg down poking the guy in the chest. "I am not here to screw around. I am trying to help you locate Hailey's and Ben's brother so I don't need you getting in my way. Besides," She added. "I am not interested."

"Yeah, well what about after?"

She shrugged. "We'll see." She turned to face Dean and Sam. Hailey was still eyeing the brothers.

"You're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?" She remarked, tilting her head.

"Well, sweetheart, I don't do shorts." Dean said to her who only raised an eyebrow and Riley snorted. He merely gave her an amused grin.

"You think this is funny?" Roy said turning to look at him. "It's dangerous back country out there. Her brother might be hurt." He gave him a look and so did Riley.

"Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just wanna help them find their brother, that's all." He answered coolly, and he turned to walk past, leading them into the forest.

"Yeah, this is _so_ winning me over." Riley stated sarcastically and she walked after Dean who paused and waited for her to catch up.

"Who is he?" He asked her and if she didn't know better she would have said he was jealous. But it was Dean.

"He's the guy that bought me that beer last night." She said as casually as possible.

"The guy in the bar?"

"Yep."

"Wonderful."

"Look, I don't like him, so I'll be alert as always. You don't have to worry. I won't compromise what we're out here to do, I'm focused." She told him and walked ahead of him. Dean paused a second with a frown.

"I'm not worried about _that_." He muttered under his breath. As he walked, he suddenly wondered why that even bothered him to begin with. Did he really care if she and Roy had a thing? Dean wasn't so sure and when he wasn't sure about something it tended to bug him.

* * *

A few hours later, Roy led the way through the trees. Dean followed after him, his eyes both trained on Roy and the woods around them. Riley walked along behind him, looking at the scenery rather than paying attention to what was going on ahead of them. Hailey and Ben were behind him, leaving Sam to bring up the rear.

"Yeah, more than a little," Roy replied and glanced at Riley who looked away from him. Dean frowned and asked another question, hoping to get Roy to stop looking at Riley. _Who does he think he's trying to impress? We hunt worse things than bears and rabbits._

"Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?" He asked and Riley glanced at him. Dean winked at her. _Yeah, I just went there._ She seemed to know what he was thinking for she rolled her eyes at him.

 _Show off._

"Mostly buck, sometimes bear." Roy answered and Riley saw him look at her.

"Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?" Dean joked and took a step. Without warning, Roy grabbed him by the back of his jacket and hauled him backwards. Riley frowned.

"Whatcha doing Roy?" He asked quietly. The didn't answer, but grabbed a stick and stabbing it into the ground a few inches from Dean's foot. A steel bear trap sprung up, snapping metal jaws that would have done damage to anyone's ankle, and Riley's eyes flashed up to them, widening.

"You should watch where you're stepping, _ranger_." Roy said smugly, stepping around the trap and retaking the lead. Riley stepped up for his defense. She didn't like it when people tried to uproot what they were doing. Their phony badges and such were for the people's protection not just their own.

"I guess we are further up than what we sighted on the map." She stated simply and arched an eyebrow at Roy, challenging him to say something else. "There are misplaced traps here and there. We should all watch our step." She flipped her braids over her shoulders and stepped ahead. Roy turned back around. Dean almost grinned as did Sam.

"It was a bear trap." Dean said sheepishly to everyone and Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Yes, that's right." Riley called back over her shoulder and Dean smirked. _Good ol' Riley._

* * *

"That was great…earlier." Dean murmured when she waited for him to come up the path, letting Roy take the lead again. "Nice cover up."

"Just, remember…this lie probably won't last forever with these people." She told him, seeing how Hailey was eyeing them. " _Someone_ already suspects us." She left him again as Hailey moved up to his side.

"You didn't pack any provisions," Hailey said pointedly to Dean after a few minutes of walking side by side with him. "You guys are carrying a _duffel bag_. Riley is the only one that looks legit." She grabbed at Dean halting his steps. "You're not rangers, so who the hell are you?" Sam looked from his brother to the angry unhappy girl wondering if he should stay and help explain or not. Dean gave Sam a nod that he was okay and Sam followed after Ben who had not wanted to acknowledge what his sister was doing. Dean faced her and started to explain.

* * *

"So…you and he a thing?" Roy asked and Riley shook her head.

"Nope."

"Really? You both seem rather protective of each other."

"We're like family, practically. We've known each other since we were kids." She explained and Roy stopped to help her when her foot tangled in some bushes. Roy's hand accidently slipped from her boot to her calf and then he let go. His eyes met hers and she swallowed nervously.

"Um, thanks." She said awkwardly and Roy nodded.

They continued walking, now an awkward silence between them. Roy came to stop suddenly and turned to face the group.

"This is it. Blackwater Ridge." He stated. Sam and Riley walked past him first with Ben right behind them all three of them, curious. Hailey and Dean brought up the rear and it was clear that Hailey had forgiven Dean by the relaxed state she was in now.

"What coordinates are we at?" Sam asked, wondering if this was the spot that his father had written the coordinates down for. Riley looked over Roy's shoulder as the man pulled out a GPS, hoping this was the spot.

"Thirty-five and minus one-eleven." Roy read out. Riley looked over and met Sam's eyes and he nodded once. This was the place. Dean suddenly motioned for them to follow him and he walked a bit away from the rest of the group.

"You hear that?" Dean asked while his eyes were focused on the trees.

"Yeah. Not even crickets." Sam answered. Riley frowned and nodded.

"No birds either." She stated. "I don't like it here. It's creepy." Sam looked over and she grinned sheepishly back at him. "Well it is." She said in defense and Sam only smiled wider.

"I'm gonna take a look around." Roy said suddenly and the three looked over at him quickly, coming out of their meeting.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself." Sam warned but Roy only smirked at him, being the big time hunter he was.

"That's sweet." He half mocked. "Don't worry about me." He pushed his way between the two brothers and moved into the trees. "See ya." He called back to Riley who only frowned after him.

"It isn't safe to leave him alone out there." She murmured and Dean looked at her.

"Worried?" He mocked half wondering where that had come from. Riley's eyes narrowed at him.

"I just don't want to find a dead body." She snapped, turning on her heels and marching into the trees.

Dean sighed after her. "All right, everybody stays together. Let's go." He murmured and started to follow Riley quickly. They came to another clearing where there were some large boulders and smaller trees. Roy had moved on ahead and Riley soon lost track of him and decided to wait and walk with the others.

Ben pulled back a branch on a tree nearby and Riley stopped him from moving when she had spotted something.

"Hey, Sam." She called. Sam walked over and examined the drawing.

"That's a hell of a find Ben. Those are Anasazi." Sam said with slight praise, a hand reaching out to touch the carving.

"What's that?" Ben asked, with interest.

"Ancient Indians." He replied. "They were this whole civilization that just vanished completely. No one really knows why." Sam frowned slightly at the figure.

"What is it?" Riley wondered and Sam looked her.

"I've seen that somewhere before."

"Hailey! Over here!" Roy called from up ahead before Riley could say anything.

Hailey took off running toward the sound of Roy's voice and everyone else followed closely, racing over a little embankment into the next clearing. Hailey was the first to pause.

"Oh my God." She breathed, her eyes surveying the damage. Tents lay strewn and shredded across the camp site, though most the items remained like they had been put. Dean paused to look at one of the tents which had blood smeared on it and his eyes flickered around the perimeter. Riley was eyeing the upturned camp chairs, sleeping bags, and the assorted camping supplies like dishes, cutlery, and utensils that littered the area.

"Looks like a grizzly." Roy commented, looking over at the rest of the group. Riley looked at Dean, hoping he'd know what really did this, but even he looked worried. Hailey began to call out for her brother, letting her backpack hit the ground.

"Tommy..." She said lowly before calling out louder. "Tommy! Tommy!" Sam jogged after her and shushed her.

"Shhh." He murmured.

"Why?" Hailey wondered aloud.

"Something might still be out there."

"Sam!" Dean called out and Sam and Riley ran over to see what he had found. He was a few yards into the woods, crouching down looking at something on the ground. They came up to him and crouched down too.

"The bodies were dragged from the camp site." Dean remarked, nodding at the clearly defined drag marks. "But here, the tracks just vanish. That's weird." He stood up and Riley bit her lip.

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you what, that's no skinwalker or black dog." He told her seriously. She still looked worried, but quickly hid it.

* * *

They returned to the camp site and Dean spotted Hailey struggling not to cry over her brother's broken cell phone.

"Hey, he could still be alive," He said reassuringly, but Hailey just looked at him.

"Help! Help!" A male voice screamed out a good distance away and everyone stood up. Dean and Roy pulled their guns and ran in the direction they'd heard the screams from with everyone else following close behind. Coming to a clearing they stopped, with Roy was training his gun on the trees around them.

"It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn't it?" Hailey asked what everyone was thinking.

Riley turned to Sam. "Wendiego?" She mouthed and she saw his eyes lit up. He nodded slowly.

"Everybody back to camp." He announced suddenly, startling everyone and having them jogging back the way they had just come. Everyone's stuff was gone.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean muttered under his breath.

"Our packs!" Hailey cried out angrily and a little scared.

Roy looked at the ground where he had set his bag. "So much for my GPS and satellite phone." He murmured.

"What the hell is going on?" Hailey asked worriedly.

"It's smart. It wants to cut us off so we can't call for help," Sam stated and Riley sighed.

"I hate the woods." She muttered and Dean rolled his eyes at her.

"You mean someone, some nutjob out there just stole all our gear?" Roy asked, continuing to look out into the trees as they stood around.

"I need to speak with you… _In private."_ Sam uttered to Riley and Dean who looked over at him in surprise. They moved away from the group like they were looking for tracks, trying and probably failing to look unsuspicious. Sam looked back at the others who were talking amongst themselves before looking at Dean.

"They can't hear us." Riley supplied and Sam nodded.

"Okay. Let me see Dad's journal." Dean handed it to him and Sam began flipping pages. Suddenly the flipping stopped. "All right. Check that out." He told them and turned the book around. There was a picture in it and some writings.

Dean eyed the page. "Oh come on," He laughed. "Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods, or northern Michigan. I've never even heard of one this far west."

"Think about it Dean, the claws, the way it can mimic a human voice..." Riley trailed off. "That's got to be what it is."

He nodded at her and then scowled. "Great..." He held up his gun. "Well this is useless then."

"We gotta get these people to safety." Sam stated before they headed back to camp.

"Sam, it's almost nightfall. We don't have much of choice in leaving." Riley protested. "I'm not walking in the dark and it's not a good idea to make Hailey, Ben, and Roy march defenseless in the dark either."

"Well, it's not safe for us here." He countered. "We have to try at least." He came back into the campsite, Dean and Riley at his heels.

"All right, listen up, it's time to go. Things have gotten... more complicated." He said to the group.

"What?" Hailey asked looking back and forth from Sam to Roy. She couldn't believe it.

"Kid, don't worry. Whatever's out there, I think I can handle it," Roy said smugly, patting his gun.

"You don't understand." Riley said. "It's not safe here for anyone."

"It's not me I'm worried about." Sam added. "If you shoot this thing, you're just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now."

"One," Roy stated angrily, "-you're talking nonsense. Two, you're in no position to give anybody orders."

"Relax." Dean stated, making Roy look at him.

"We never should have let you come out here in the first place, all right?" Sam practically snapped. "I'm trying to protect you." Roy stepped right up into Sam's face instantly.

"You protect me?" He said arrogantly, mocking the younger man. "I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night."

"Roy." Riley snapped. "Stop it."

"Yeah?" Sam responded, unfazed by Roy's demeanor. "It's a damn near _perfect_ hunter. It's smarter than you, and it's gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid sorry ass out of here."

"How the hell do you put up with them?" Roy asked Riley. "Did they fill your head with this bullshit?"

"Shut up and listen." She snapped.

"You're both crazy." Roy pushed Riley aside and she gritted her teeth as he moved to stood before Sam.

"Yeah?" Sam challenged. "You ever hunt a Wen-" Dean gave him a hard shove interrupting what he'd been about to say.

"Chill out." Dean ordered, pushing a finger to his brother's chest.

"Roy!" Hailey yelled. "Stop. Stop it! Everybody just stop!" She pushed her way in to the middle. "Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I'm not leaving here without him." Everyone was silent for a moment and then Riley spoke up.

"It's getting dark." She said, looking at Sam and Dean. Both nodded at her.

"This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night." Dean said for everyone to hear. Riley shivered. She remembered all too well the night she, Sam, John, and Dean had faced off with a Wendigo.

"We'll never beat it, not in the dark." She murmured and Dean glanced at her. "We need to settle in and protect ourselves."

"How?" Hailey asked and Dean only patted his jacket, where the journal was sitting.

* * *

When they had drawn the protective circle, they started a fire. Riley, Ben, and Hailey gathered around it for warmth. Hailey looked over at Dean, wondering if what he was going was real.

"One more time, that's -?" She asked, indicating at the symbols that he had drawn into the ground.

"Anasazi symbols," Dean answered her, without turning around. "It's for protection. The Wendigo can't cross over them." Roy laughed at this, his gun slung over his shoulder as he walked back and forth.

"Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy." Dean muttered loudly. Sam was sitting on the edge of the camp site staring out into the darkness and Riley was worried. She got up, despite the fact that she needed the warmth of the fire and came to sit by him.

"You should sit closer to the fire." She murmured to him and leaned against him. "You're freezing." Sam sighed and looked at her.

"Correction. _You're_ freezing."

"Right." She laughed. "You know, I really want some marshmallows." Sam snorted and Riley sighed. "It'll stop hurting, Sam. I promise." She murmured and said nothing more. Sam sighed and nodded slowly.

Dean walked over to sit on the other side of Riley. "What's going on in that freaky head of yours?" He asked, plopping down on the log.

"Dean-" Sam began to protest but Dean cut him off.

"No, you're not fine. You're like a powder keg, man. It's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

"Dad's not here." Sam said after a minute. "I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign right?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Dean murmured. "Tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Lost Creek."

"Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad. I mean why are we still even here?" Sam asked and he struck at the ground with a stick, looking frustrated.

Dean moved so that he was crouching in front of Sam and held up John's journal.

"This is why." He said to his brother and he patted the top of the journal. "This book. This is Dad's single most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he's passed it on to us." Sam shook his head.

"Maybe he wants us to pick up where he left off. Saving people, hunting things. The family business."

"I'm starting to think that John wants us to go through obstacles to find him." Riley murmured. Dean snorted in agreement.

"It makes no sense." Sam ran his hands over his face in frustration and Riley tried to calm him down. "Why doesn't he just - call us? Why doesn't he - tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?"

"I dunno." Dean admitted, for once looking unsure. "But the way I see it, Dad's giving us a job to do, and I intend to do it."

"Dean... no." Sam shook his head. "I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica's killer. It's the only thing I can think about." Riley became silent and Dean noticed the faraway look in her eyes. She needed him too.

"Okay, all right, Sam, we'll find them. I promise. Listen to me. You've gotta prepare yourself." Dean said trying to pacify him. "I mean, this search could take a while. All that anger, you can't keep it burning on the long haul. It's gonna kill you."

"Patience, Sammy." Riley murmured, raising her head up to look at him. "You need to be patient. There's a reason that things are the way they are."

"She's right." Dean said softly.

"How do you guys do it?" Sam asked suddenly, his voice breaking and Dean looked back at him. Riley's gaze fell back on him too. "How does Dad do it?"

"Them." Riley said, nodding at Hailey and Ben. "Helping others makes it easier. Make things a little bit more bearable."

Dean nodded at her in agreement. "Yeah, I figure our family's already screwed to hell. Why not help out someone else?" Sometimes, _most_ of the time, he didn't get her but occasionally they shared the same thought.

"We'll find out what happened to you, Blondie." Dean told her and Riley felt warm all of the sudden. "And I'll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can." Sam had to smile at that, and Riley smiled too.

"Help me!" A voice in the darkness called out suddenly and a twig snapped a little too close to their campsite. "Please!" The voice called out and everyone was on their feet and surrounding the fire.

"Here we go again." Riley muttered and she and Sam shone their flashlights into the trees. Dean pulled his gun out and cocked it, readying it although it really wouldn't do them much good. Wendigos couldn't be killed by a gun.

"Help!" The voice called out and Riley shook her head.

"It's trying to draw us out." Dean said. "Just stay cool. Stay put."

"Inside the magic circle?" Roy mocked, his gun raised in front of him protectively. Riley frowned at him.

"Hey, this magic circle is going to protect you." She snapped at him and he rolled his eyes. Dean briefly wondered where that aggression had suddenly come from.

"Help! Help me, ple-!" The voice again and it sounded like a struggle was going on. An odd growling noise followed and Riley shivered. Roy pointed his gun at the sound.

"Okay, that's no grizzly." He conceded, looking cautiously around and Riley glanced at Hailey and Ben.

"It's okay. You'll be all right, I promise." She murmured to them. All the sudden, a flurry of movement rushed past quickly. Hailey shrieked and she and Ben moved closer together.

"It's here." Sam said and Roy started shooting at the bushes when someone moved within them. Something cried out seconds later.

"I hit it!" He shouted and started running into the dark.

"Roy! Roy, come back!" Riley shouted and then she turned to Dean. "I'll stay with Ben and Hailey." He nodded at her before disappearing into the trees with Sam.

"It's over here! It's in the tree!" Roy's voice called from up ahead and then there was only Dean calling out Roy's name.

"Oh...no."

Hailey looked at her. "What? What is it?" Riley looked at her, having not known she had spoken aloud.

"He's gone." She murmured, looking the girl in the eye. "Roy's gone." Hailey put a hand to her mouth, while Ben paled and Riley went to sit on the top of an old stump to wait for Dean and Sam.

They came back a few minutes later, and Riley heard them talking lowly to Hailey and Ben. She ignored them and started re-lacing her boots, mostly to have something to do, but also because the boots were a size too big, making them slip down and loosen easily. The heavy tread of Dean's biker boots, alerted her to his presence, but she didn't turn around to acknowledge him.

"Well…Roy's gone." She nodded and heaved a sigh. Dean moved in front of her. "Look, Blondie…about you and Roy…"

"You thought me and Mr. Macho had a thing?" She asked arching an eyebrow. "We didn't."

"Oh…well…okay then." He said awkwardly and Riley smirked, patting his cheek.

"Don't worry. You're not being replaced." A particular feeling coiled in his gut at her touching his face and her words, though he knew she didn't really mean then.

He turned his head looked over his shoulder at Sam, Hailey, and Ben.

"Come on, it'll be morning soon and we need sleep." He started back to the fire and Riley slowly followed him.

"Um…I gotta go." She muttered and Dean looked at her.

"What? Go where?"

"You know." She said rolling her eyes. " _Go_." Dean's mouth formed an "o" and then he waved at her to go on. "I'm not going to pee with you nearby."

"I won't look." Dean snorted. "I'm not letting anyone else out of my sight, okay?"

"Fine. But if you turn around…." She walked off into the trees with him behind her. She went into the bushes ahead and he waited.

"I won't look. Just go." Dean stated.

"Stop talking." She said. "I can't go knowing your there."

"Women…" He muttered under his breath. After a moment Riley spoke up again.

"Okay, you're gonna have to make some kind of noise. It's awkward." Dean groaned aloud. He could feel a headache coming on.

* * *

Daylight shimmered through the trees the next morning and Riley sat up blearily haven gotten hardly any sleep. She looked around for everyone else as she stood up from the ground. Sam was sitting with his back the tree stump she had sat on last night, the journal in his hands. His gaze was far out and unseeing, mind elsewhere than where they were and Riley didn't disturb him as she went by to see where Dean had gone. He was examining claw marks on a tree, Hailey not far from him, talking actively.

"I don't…I mean these types of things, they aren't supposed to be real," The girl was saying, head shaking. Dean turned from the clawed tree and walked around.

"I wish I could tell you different." He said softly and he saw Riley. "Morning, Blondie."

"Why didn't you guys wake me?"

"Because you needed the extra sleep." He replied and Riley nodded.

"I wish it had helped." She stated and he smiled at her grimly.

"How do we know it's not out there watching us?" Hailey asked nervously.

"We don't," Dean replied. "But we're safe for now." He crouched down in front of her and tried to give her a reassuring smile.

"How do you know about this stuff?"

"It kind of runs in the family." Dean answered after a bit of consideration and then stood up again.

"What about you?" Hailey asked Riley who looked surprised.

"Me? Well…I suppose family covers my situation too. I was brought up on doing things like this."

"Hey," Sam said, walking over to them quickly. Both Riley and Hailey stood up at his arrival. "So we've got half a chance in the daylight. And I for one want to kill this evil son of a bitch."

"Well, hell, you know I'm in," Dean said excitedly and Riley smiled.

"Me too."

"'Wendigo' is a Cree Indian word. It means 'evil that devours'" Sam explained, pointing at the picture in John's journal and showing it to Ben and Hailey. Ben realized it was the same picture he had seen on the tree yesterday.

"They're hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man. Sometimes an Indian, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or a hunter." Dean added, coming to stand next to them.

"How's a man turn into one of those things?" Hailey asked as we all watched Dean picking up random items off the ground.

"Well it's always the same." He explained picking up things off the ground and examining them. "During some harsh winter a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. Becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp."

"Like the Donner Party." Ben said suddenly and Sam nodded.

"Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities. Speed, strength, immortality." Riley counted off and Sam smiled at her.

"If you eat enough of it, over years, you become this less-than-human thing. You're always hungry." Dean informed them.

Hailey looked at them with fear in her eyes. "So if that's true, how can Tommy still be alive?" Dean looked at Sam and then back at her.

"You're not gonna like it."

She sucked in a breath. "Tell me."

"More than anything," Dean started, "A Wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time, but when it's awake it keeps its victims alive. It, uh, stores them so it can feed whenever it wants." Hailey looked horrified and so did Ben. Riley was too for that matter, but she didn't show it. "If your brother's alive, it's keeping him somewhere dark, hidden and safe. And we gotta track it back there."

"And then how do we stop it?" Hailey asked, looking determined.

"Well, guns are useless, so are knives." Dean said. "Basically -" He held up a can of lighter fluid, an empty beer bottle and the white cloth which he'd picked up from the discarded items around the campsite. "We gotta torch the sucker."

* * *

Dean led the way through the trees followed by Hailey, Ben, Sam, and Riley. They kept silent for the most part, and after a while started to notice deep claw marks on some of the trees and dried blood. They came into a clearing and Riley looked around as did Sam.

"Dean!" He called suddenly and Dean walked back towards them.

"What is it?" He asked and Sam motioned at the claw marks and blood that were on every tree around them.

"It lured us into a trap." Riley murmured and Dean frowned.

"You know, I was thinking, those claw prints, so clear and distinct." Sam said lowly. "They were almost too easy to follow." A growl came from somewhere close by and everyone looked around in alarm. The bushes rustled every time it went by and Riley backed up into a tree, keeping her eyes peeled for the creature.

Something wet hit rained on her jacket. She touched the spots and blanched. It was blood. She looked up slowly and gasped. Roy was hanging above her.

"Oh, shit." She said and the boys turned around. With a snap of a branch, Roy's boy went crashing down from the trees.

Riley yelped as the body hit her and knocked her backward as it landed with a bone breaking thud on the ground. Sam went over to help her up and she clung to him.

"Damn it, his neck's broken," Dean muttered, checking Roy.

"Riley, are you okay?" Sam asked softly and she nodded.

"Of course, Sammy." She murmured, giving him a shaky smile. He looked ready to argue when the growling came again. Dean stood up quickly.

"Okay, run, run, run, run, go, go, go!" He yelled, shooing them all into the woods. Directionless and panicky everyone ran through the trees, each person trying to keep up with whoever was in front of them. Ben tripped over a tree root and Riley and Sam ran back to help him to his feet.

"We got ya." Sam said and urged Ben in the direction Dean and Hailey had run. Riley kept her hand on Ben as they ran, trying to find Dean. Hailey gave a scream and together, the trio ran towards the sound. When they finally stopped, Sam lifted a broken beer bottle that Dean had been hoping to use in order to torch the monster.

"Hailey!" Ben called out worriedly, but was nowhere in sight.

"Dean!" Riley yelled out. Sam met her eyes. The Wendigo had them. Having no choice and no trail they just had to hope that if they kept going straight they would find them.

* * *

"If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?" Ben asked as they walked along the forest.

"Honestly? Roy shot it and pissed it off." Riley answered. He suddenly darted up the trail and picked something up from the ground.

"They went this way." He said confidently.

"How do you know?" She asked and Ben tossed the small item at her. She caught it and looked down at her hand. It was a peanut M&M. "Of course." She snickered and Sam looked over her shoulder.

He laughed. "It's better than breadcrumbs." He told her with a smile and they followed the trail of candy.

"You know I've never liked that story."

"Hansel and Gretel?"

"Yeah…I don't like witches."

Sam snickered and led the way down the trail of candy. The three soon came upon an old abandoned mine, the entrance barred with boards, and a sign on the side that read ' _WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT ENTER, EXTREMELY TOXIC MATERIAL."_

"Okay," Began Riley. "If I were an evil nasty people eating creature, this would be my home." She stated and Sam smirked before shrugging and going through the loose boards.

Riley's flashlight lit their way through the dark mine and being the only girl Sam made sure she was near him as they walked along. The Wendigo's growls came from further down the mine and Riley turned her flashlight off instantly. Sam pressed her and Ben against the far wall. Ben let out a curse as the Wendigo was suddenly silhouetted against the light shining in from the entrance to the mine. Sam moved his hand and held it over the young boy's mouth, shushing him silently. Riley eyed the monster, keeping a hand on Sam's sleeve.

After a moment, the Wendigo went down another tunnel and disappeared from sight. Sam was the first to move and he did so slowly and unsurely. Once he was sure the thing wasn't around he gestured for Riley and Ben to follow him. A little way down the tunnel they went, keeping silent and on the lookout for Dean and Hailey.

 _Creak._

Riley yelped a bit sounding a bit like a kitten meowing and then looked at her feet. The boards under her feet were wobbly and extremely unstable.

"Sam…" She whispered and he turned to her just as the floorboards gave away and the three of them were sent falling down into the dark.

* * *

Riley moaned and rolled onto her back. "Sammy?"

"I'm right here." Sam groaned and his hand found hers. "Careful." He warned her and helped her sit up. Their eyes adjusted to the dark and Riley looked down.

"Oh, God." She moaned. They were sitting in a pile of dried up human bones. Ben's eyes opened and he saw skulls. He cried out in shock and backed up, bumping into Riley and Sam who had just stood up.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay." Sam whispered quickly, comforting the teen. Riley felt something trickling down her leg and she looked to see blood coming from a deep cut on her upper thigh.

"Riles?" Sam murmured. "You okay?"

"Yeah." She said, her voice painfilled and Sam moved closer. "Just not going to be able to walk very good on it."

He flicked on his flashlight to see a bit better and helped her rip part of her shirt to make a makeshift bandage.

She looked up and then gaped.

"Sam!" Riley murmured and he and Ben turned around. Two figures were hanging from the supporting beams above them. Dean and Hailey. Getting help from Sam and Ben, Riley limped over to where the two were hanging from the support beams. Ben went to his sister and tried to wake her up, while she and Sam went to Dean.

"Dean." Riley murmured, shaking him gently. He groaned and turned, his face smeared with blood.

"Dean?" Sam urged. His eyes opened and Riley sighed with relief. Sam smiled too.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked worriedly. Dean blinked dizzily and winced, but he nodded.

"Yeah." He grunted.

"Here, Sam you catch him." She murmured and leaning on one leg and up on her tiptoes to slightly pressed against Dean's chest she started cutting at his bonds with her pocketknife. Dean chuckled a bit and Riley rolled her eyes.

"Don't get any ideas." She murmured, half-wondering how he could be cracking jokes at a time like this. Then again, it was Dean.

"What? You have to admit it's a little kinky."

She ended up laughing too. "I don't even think I want to know how you have fun with that." Dean gave her a heated grin that made her cheeks flush.

"You would."

"Oh, shut up." She told him with a shake of her head and stepped back as the rope was cut.

"Gotcha." Sam murmured as he lowered his brother down.

"Hailey, wake up." Ben spoke to his sister and Riley went over to cut her loose. Sam moved Dean over to a clear spot on the floor and settled him down. Dean groaned and his breathing quickened slightly from the move.

"I thought you had died." Sam murmured and Dean looked at him with a groan of pain. "You sure you're, all right?" He asked with worry.

"Yeah, yep." He answered in a grunt of agony. "Where is he?"

"It's gone for now." Sam said, helping Hailey sit down beside Dean who noticed Riley's reddened cloth around her leg.

"What happened?" He asked with a frown.

"You know it's not a hunt unless I'm bleeding or bruised." She commented and he snorted. "I'll be fine once we get out of here." He nodded and sat back against the wall.

Hailey rubbed her wrists, tossing the rope aside while Ben looked over her worriedly. Hailey suddenly looked around the room and gasped. She stood up quickly and Ben looked over to see what she had spotted. Riley, Sam, and Dean soon saw what had her gasping. A young man was hanging from the rafters a few feet away from them. Dean stayed put, still frowning at Riley, while Sam went over to see who he was.

"Tommy?" Hailey murmured as she reached out to touch her brother's cheek. Suddenly Tommy's head jerked up and he gasped for air, looking alarmed. Hailey shrieked once. Dean saw Riley jump at the noise and snickered at her. She glared at him over her shoulder.

"Cut him down!" Hailey begged and Sam went to work on getting the rope cut. Hailey and Ben moved forward to support their brother.

"We're gonna get you home." Hailey promised the weary young man and Riley smiled at the reunited family before turning to dig through their stolen packs that were in the corner.

"That was clever what you did with the candy." Riley said and Dean paused in his search to look and see if she was teasing him. She wasn't looking at him.

"Yeah I figured that you'd guys see that." He said lowly, before reaching into a pack and pulling out two flares guns. He smirked at Riley who smiled back as he got to his feet.

"Check it out." He called to Sam who turned to look at him.

"Flare guns." Sam said with a grin. "Those'll work." Dean grinned and twirled the guns on his fingers like a cowboy.

* * *

Everyone moved down the tunnel. Dean lead the way with Sam following him, one of the flare guns in hand. Hailey and Ben followed after, carrying Tommy between them as the man limped along. Riley kept behind them, wincing with every step.

Growling echoed down the tunnel and everyone stopped walking.

"Looks like someone's home for supper." Dean said, taking a step forward and Riley frowned.

"Fantastic." She muttered.

"We'll never outrun it," Hailey said nervously. Dean looked back and exchanged looks with Sam who had one of the flare guns pointed in the direction the sound had come from.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Dean wondered and Sam nodded. Riley knew from experience that when they got that look in their eyes, they had a plan.

"Yeah, I think so." Sam answered aloud.

Riley frowned.

"All right, listen to me." Dean told the others. "Stay with Sam and Riley. They'll get you out of here."

"Dean-" She began but he cut her off.

"No. Not with that leg of yours." He said and smirked when she huffed at him. "Next time, Blondie." He tweaked her nose and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Be careful." She told Dean before she realized what she said aloud. When his eyebrows rose, she quickly smirked and patted his shoulder, glad it was too dark to see her reddened face. "You don't want to end up shooting yourself." He rolled his eyes and went down the tunnel.

"What is he gonna do?" Hailey asked and Riley looked at the girl.

"Something he probably shouldn't, but don't worry his wild plans usually work."

"Chow time, you freaky bastard!" Dean shouted and Riley gave Hailey a look that said 'told you so'. "Yeah, that's right, bring it on, baby, I taste _good!"_ He kept moving until he was completely out of sight, disappearing around a corner and into the dark with a gesture for them to get going. Riley went up the tunnel first and then nodded at Sam.

"All right, come on! Hurry!" He and started leading them down the tunnel. Riley brought up the rear, in case she needed to help Tommy and his siblings. It was slow going with an injured young man to tug along, but it wasn't from lack of trying. Tommy's muscles had withered slightly from nonuse and he had difficulty moving along. He was tiring quickly and Riley wasn't fairing much better with her limping.

Wendigo growls came from in front of them and Sam lifted the flare gun. Riley knew that he was debating what to do next.

"Get them out of here, Riles." He said lowly and she sighed with a nod of her head. There was no use arguing.

"Sam, no!" Hailey murmured.

"I'll get them out, you just shoot the damn thing." Riley told him and he nodded. The growling grew louder and she turned around.

"We have to go now!" She stated and they started down a new tunnel. A loud roar sounded behind them and Riley turned her head.

"Sam!" She cried when she heard the tell-tale sound of a flare gun shooting off. Seconds later, he came barreling up from down the tunnel and he took hold of Tommy to try and help them along.

"Come on, hurry, hurry, hurry." Sam yelled and they raced/hobbled up the tunnel.

"Oh, God." Riley stated when her hands came in contact with a wall. "Dead End." She turned around and Sam stiffened.

"Get behind me!" He shouted, holding out his arms to block and shield the siblings and Riley. The girl clung to Sam's jacket and pulled herself to his side. He glanced at her.

"You're not going to face that thing alone." She said and he only nodded. The Wendigo approached slowly, its large limbs shifting in the dark. It came into the light, showing that it was tall and gangly with long claws. It gave a loud roar that made Riley and Hailey scream out.

"Hey!" A familiar voice yelled. The Wendigo whipped around to face Dean. The flare gun went off and the creature began to light up under its skin and burn. With shrieks of pain it fell to the floor in flames.

"Not bad, huh?" Dean asked and Riley smiled.

"Nice, shootin' Tex." She told him and he laughed. Sam shook his head and Hailey smiled at Dean.

* * *

"So the bear came back again after you yelled at it?" The officer asked and Ben nodded, sticking to the story that Sam helped he come up with. They were outside the Ranger Station talking with some police officers, while an ambulance tended to Tommy and to Dean, Hailey, and Riley's minor injuries.

"That's when it circled the campsite." Ben told them while Sam stood behind him. "I mean, this grizzly must have weight eight hundred, nine hundred pounds!" The officer nodded at him.

"All right, we'll go after it first thing." He promised and walked off. Sam smiled at Ben and then looked over at where Riley was sitting on a bench and they walked over.

"How's your leg?" Sam asked her.

"Wasn't deep enough for stitches, so they bandaged it really good." She told him with a smile. "Nothing to worry about."

Dean and Hailey walked towards the group.

"So really, I don't know how to thank you." She started. Dean gave her an enticing look.

"Must you cheapen the moment?" She asked with a slight laugh.

"Yeah." He told her with a laugh of his own.

"Are you riding with your brother?" A lady asked from the ambulance and Hailey looked at her.

"Yeah." She told her and then looked back at Dean. Riley, Sam, and Ben were on their way over.

She leaned close to Dean and kissed his cheek. "I hope you find your father." She whispered to him and Riley looked away from them.

Dean nodded at her with a small smile and Hailey tucked an arm around Ben, leading him to the ambulance.

"Thanks, Sam." She said as she passed by and Riley came up to Sam's side.

They watched until the doors of the ambulance were shut.

"Man, I hate camping." Dean muttered and Riley sighed.

"Me too." She and Sam said at the same time and Dean snorted.

"How are you feeling?" Riley asked him and Dean nodded at her.

"I'll be all right." He murmured and then looked at Sam. "Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?"

"Yeah, I know." Sam said, nodding, looking back at me with a grin. "But in the meantime…" He paused and winked at Riley. "I'm driving!" Riley laughed and Dean saw that both of them were watching him. He tossed the keys to Sam after a minute and then looked at Riley.

"You get shot gun." He told her and Riley looked at him in disbelief.

"You sure?" She asked, and Dean nodded.

"Yeah." Riley smiled at him and he felt his stomach flip-flop. _What the hell? Must be getting sick._ He put a hand to his head with a groan and Riley touched his arm. Dean jumped and looked at her.

"Are you all right?" She asked, those baby blue eyes searching his face and he found he couldn't look away.

"Just need some shut eye." He told her and climbed into the back seat. Riley shrugged at Sam and they both got into the Impala.

"Does this mean I get to pick the music?" Sam asked with cheeky grin. "House rules."

"Fine." Dean stated. "But I swear man, you put in anything that's girly…You're not ever driving this car again." Sam and Riley laughed and Dean frowned. "I'm not kidding."

"Sure, Dean." Sam teased. "Sure."

* * *

 _Review?_


	3. Dead in the Water

Chapter 3: Dead in the Water

The diner wasn't very crowded which suited the hunters. Dean scribbled out words on the newspapers in front of him. He was scooping out potential hunts, hoping to find one quickly.

Sam had gone to pay for their room which was attached to the diner they were eating breakfast in, so it was just him and Riley.

Said blond was on the stool next to him, trying to hide her yawns and finish off her buttered toast. She hadn't slept well and neither had Sam, both of them had been up long before he had.

She yawned again, tossing her still damp hair over her shoulder and the scent of strawberries hit his nose. His mind went blank for a moment, thoughts of a hunt disappearing for a moment. He had found himself watching her, really looking at her like he was looking at a new person.

He had taken notice of things that he hadn't really cared about before. For instance, she had the bluest eyes he had ever seen, she had the tendency to hum and/or sing random songs at the most unusual times (Something he found quirky, but not annoying), the way she smelled like strawberries with hints of vanilla, and a great many other things that he was still finding out. Dean frowned to himself, tapping at his lower lip with the ink pen. There he went again, thinking about her. He seriously needed to stop, it was freaking him out. He shouldn't be thinking of her that way. She was like a sister to him and Sam. And that reminded him of their last hunt together when they had pretended to be a couple. Sam had been with Bobby helping him research for another hunt while the teenager had gotten over his bad cold. The last time he had ever felt so strongly about her as he did now.

 _It had been five years ago, she had been fifteen and he had been twenty-one. He still remembered how she had felt in his arms, how her mouth had molded to his perfectly... The hunt had been a incubus that had been hunting potential kills in a nightclub. Looking for young couples. So they had pretended while John sat at the bar and waited for the creature._

 _Dean had danced with Riley, trying to keep it PG. But the corseted top and her hip hugging pants were not helping matters._

 _"Seriously, this is not going to attract that thing." She had hissed at him. "You're going to have to touch me." Pink tinged her cheeks at her own words._

 _Rolling his eyes, Dean had grabbed her hips, tugging her against him, their stomachs touching. "Like that?" He asked, challenging her._

 _She met his gaze, cheeks flushed. "Yeah." She said breathlessly, swaying to the music. She turned and ground her ass against him and he took her arms._

 _"Damn it, stop it." He snapped lowly, irritated and very aroused. "Do you even know what you're doing?" He was positive she had no idea what she was doing. What she was doing to him as she pressed her body right against him in a way she shouldn't. She whipped around to face him, glaring at his insinuation that she was that naïve._

 _"I'm getting that guy's attention." She snapped back and inclined her head. Dean did a brief glance. It was the incubus they were after. He was watching them. Or her rather. "So stop being a stiff and dance with me." She tossed her arms around his neck and brought his head closer to hers. "I know how to dance. This isn't my first time in a club. Put your hands on my waist." He ran his hands down her bare skin, shuddering at how warm she felt._

 _He had noticed how attractive she was. It wasn't hard to miss. She had changed dramatically in the last year, but Riley is a sister and he shouldn't be having these perverted thoughts. She was fifteen! But something had changed over a month ago. Turned out she was a badass werewolf hunter in a cheerleading costume. It had been an eyeopener for him and a nightly wet dream fantasy._

 _Then she nuzzled his chin and his heart stopped. Her nose glided across his skin again and he trembled with lust._

 _"Fuck it." He whispered and pushed her hips into his, grinding against her. He knew she had to have felt him hard against her, but it seemed to encourage her. Suddenly, he didn't care about their age difference or that she was like a sister or a cousin. He wanted to taste her. His little miniskirt wearing werewolf hunter. He backed her into a wall, mouth fusing to hers and swallowing her gasp._

 _Sparks of electricity went through his spine as their lips met and he held her closer. Her hands trailed up and down his back and then tugged at his shirt, sliding underneath to feel his hot skin, making him groan. He squeezed her ass and she moaned softly against his neck._

 _He wanted to feel more of the electric jolts, so he took her mouth again, growling as he grabbed her thigh and hoisted it up against his hip. She whimpered slightly at the feel of him and he kissed down her neck to soothe and encourage her._

 _Dean's hands traveled to run along her sides and started back down again, making her shiver with want._

 _"Dean..." She whispered. "We-we shouldn't..."_

 _He shook his head. "It's okay..." He spoke softly and he kissed her again._

 _Riley bit her lip. "I don't know about this. Maybe you're taking it too far. It's the incubus..."_

 _"You don't like it?"_

 _She opened and closed her mouth, before shutting her eyes. "That's not funny...Please just stop."_

 _"Look at me."_

 _She did and he cupped her face tenderly. "Don't you feel it? The spark between us? This is me talking, Riley. The incubus isn't near us."_

 _"Yes." She let him, wrap his arms around her again. "I love you. I always have."_

 _He kissed her again and she melted. She couldn't believe it. He finally loved her more than a sister. He saw her and not some other girl. She was happy and so quickly forgot the reason they were there._

 _A hand landed on Dean's shoulder. "Hello there." A voice said smoothly and Dean turned to look at who was touching him. Riley panted against the wall, lipstick smeared slightly. "My name is Andreas. And who are you so passionate?"_

 _"Dean, and this is Riley." He said automatically, liking this smooth speaking guy._

 _"Lovely." Andreas, took Riley's hand and kissed the back of it, making her moan breathlessly. "A pleasure. Would the two of you join me for a drink? I have a private room here."_

 _"Sure." Dean said and Riley nodded, stroking his arm._

 _Andreas offered his arm to Riley. "Lovely girl." She put her arm through his and Dean felt a sense of clarity all of the sudden. He met his father's gaze and the man nodded once, understanding and Dean turned disappearing to the private room._

* * *

"Can I get you anything else?" A voice asked and Dean looked up, pen still in his mouth from the deep contemplation, and focused on the blond standing at the table. Wendy the waitress was half leaning towards him, her assets about to burst from her tight pink tank top. Dean felt the small grin on his face widen as she flaunted herself at him. It was a nice distraction from memory lane.

At that time, Sam got back and sat next to Riley who was trying not to doze off.

He glanced at the waitress. "Just the check please." He toned with a sigh.

"Okay." She nodded before walking away and Dean rolled his eyes at his brother.

"You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once and a while." He gestured slightly at the waitress who was sashaying away from them and back into the diner's kitchen. "That is fun."

Riley snorted, but didn't respond.

Noting that his brother seemed to be in a grumpy mood, Dean handed him the newspaper instead, where he had marked the story that interested him.

"Here. Take a look at this. I think I got one." Sam took the paper and held it up to read it. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out." Dean read from memory and Sam glanced at him. "Authorities dragged the water." He continued. "Nothing. Sophie Carlton was the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had Sophie's funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam asked in confusion.

"Yeah. It's weird, they buried an empty coffin." Dean agreed and then shrugged.

"Closure." Riley murmured.

"Closure?" Sam scoffed. "What closure? People don't just disappear, Riley. Other people just stop looking for 'em." He said angrily and though it wasn't directed at her, she still frowned. Dean wasn't sure he liked what Sam was driving at and set his paper back down with a slap.

"Something you want to say to me?"

"Trail for Dad." Sam sighed. "It's getting colder every day."

"Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know. Something. Anything." Sam sounded desperate and Dean felt as something snapped within him. _Did he think I wasn't looking? That I wasn't frustrated too?_

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude." He stated angrily. "I want to find Dad just as much as you do."

"Yeah, I know you do-"

"I've been with him every single day for the past two years. While you've been at college, going to pep rallies. We will find Dad. But until then, we're going to kill everything bad between here and there." Dean said sternly. "And no amount of attitude is going to change my mind. Okay?" They stared at one another feathers ruffled like a pair of roosters, but finally Sam backed down. Dean's eyes wandered back to Wendy when she walked by and Sam rolled his eyes watching how his brother practically ogled the girl's ass.

Riley smacked his arm. "Hey!" He looked over at her.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes. "So Lake Manitoc? How far?""

"Few miles." Dean murmured. "Let's go."

* * *

"I'm worried about him, Dean." Riley murmured and he glanced at her. Sam was checking them out of the motel as they waited inside the car. "He's restless and super angry."

"I know." He muttered with a sigh.

"But I know how he feels." She continued with a small frown. He turned his head to look at her. "I guess I pushed at my dad, the way Sam's pushing at you." She shook her head sadly. "I didn't really realize it, until I saw and heard him." She stifled a yawn, gazing back out the window thoughtfully. Dean tilted his head.

"You have another nightmare?"

"Yeah." She muttered. "Between Sam kicking the shit out of me in the middle of the night to my own nightmares..." Dean frowned.

"Sam should've bunked with me."

She shook her head and turned to look at him. "Dean, you and I both know you needed the uninterrupted sleep. We've been driving for days. Besides...I punched Sam in the arm for kicking me so we're even."

He snorted, a smirk on his face and she laughed.

"But seriously, next hotel, either you or Sam bunk with me. I don't want to wake to a wrestling match."

Riley smirked back. "Deal." She turned away, feeling butterflies in her stomach, thinking about bunking with Dean. Or wrestling with Dean... She mentally slapped herself and shook her head. She should not be having those thoughts. He didn't see her that way and never had. It was all in her head as usual.

* * *

They found themselves pulling up to a nice cabin near the lake.

"It's too bad, I can't swim." Riley commented as they stepped out of the car. "It's a pretty lake."

Dean snorted and Sam shook his head.

"Well it is." She muttered and the boys rolled their eyes.

They went up to the door and Riley knocked first.

The door swung open and a young man stared out at them.

"Will Carlton?" Dean asked, taking the lead as usual.

The man nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'm Agent Ford. This is Agent Hamill." He nodded at Sam. "And Agent Fisher." Riley raised a hand at the young guy when he glanced in her direction. "We're with the US Wildlife Service." The trio held up their badges. Will nodded with a sigh.

"This way."

Will lead the way to the dock and taking them down along a path through the trees. Riley could see an older man sitting out on a bench near the edge of the dock. His posture told her, he was upset, and she bit her lip.

"She was about a hundred yards out." Will spoke up and Riley came out of her thoughts. "That's where she got dragged down."

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?"

He gave Dean an even look, checking to see if he was mocking him, before glancing back at the water. "Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as in her own bathtub."

Riley frowned. "So, no splashing? No signs of distress?

"No, that's what I'm telling you." He murmured.

"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Sam questioned. "Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?" Riley couldn't help but shudder at the thought of something lurking in the dark water. It was bad enough she couldn't swim, but to think about being dragged under by something...

"No. Again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean asked him next.

Will frowned in thought. "No, never. Why? Why, what do you think's out there?" He got a bit eager to hear something, desperate to find a cause for his sister's death. Riley supposed it would be easier to blame a monster than something unexplainable.

Dean caught her gaze, sensing the same, before looking back at Will. "We'll let you know as soon as we do." Carlton nodded at them and the boys started back to the car. Her eyes were on the man on the dock. Although she didn't want to step out onto the dock, she felt bad for the man who had lost his daughter.

"What about your father?" She asked softly and the brothers turned around. "May we talk to him?"

Will looked over his shoulder at his father who was sitting on the deck so quiet and lonely looking.

"Look, if you don't mind, I mean...he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

Riley smiled sadly. "Of course. We understand." She put a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry."

He smiled at her. "Thank you."

She jogged to catch up to the boys.

"What do you think happened?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know."

"Sounds fishy to me." Dean smirked and Riley slapped his head. "It was funny!"

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes. "Knock it off, guys."

* * *

At the police station, Riley got the distinct impression that the sheriff didn't like them at all. Jake Devins was an older man with light brown hair and the disposition of a man who didn't want to deal with outsiders. Whether they be real life "Wildlife Service" or not.

Said man was frowning at them as he walked into his office. "Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?"

"You sure it's accidental? Will Carlton saw something grab his sister." Sam questioned and the man snorted.

"Like what? Here, sit, please." Jake gestured for them to sit in the chairs in front of his desk. Sam opted to stand behind Riley's chair, letting her and Dean take the seats. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

Dean laughed. "Yeah. Right." Riley made eye contact with him and he rolled his eyes at her. She stifled a laugh.

The Sheriff didn't see the exchange as he sat down heavily behind his desk.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still—" He frowned. "We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though, I mean, that's, that's the third missing body this year."

Jake sighed. "I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about." He emphasized.

Riley nodded her head. "We understand."

"Anyway..." He sighed again. "All this...it won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?"

Jake frowned. "Well, the dam, of course."

Riley could see Dean was floundering for an answer so she cleared her throat.

"He means the dam is falling apart. The federal government won't grant money for repairs. So, we were forced to open up the spillway." She spoke up, very grateful for the digging she had done on the way up the lake house. The tension left the room immediately at her words as the Sheriff's suspicious expression faded. "In six or so months, there won't be a lake." Dean's hand landed on her knee and squeezed lightly, making heat warm her cheeks at the feeling of his skin on hers. Thankfully, it was over as quickly as it had happened.

"Or a town either." Jake added, nodding at her.

Knock, knock.

They all looked towards the door as it opened, a young woman with long dark hair entered the room.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?"

The sheriff and Dean stood immediately and Riley remained sitting.

The woman looked at them curiously. "I can come back later."

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter." Jake introduced.

Dean smiled widely and stepped forward. Riley rolled her eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean." He offered his hand to her and she shook it.

"Andrea Barr. Hi." She smiled back.

"Hi."

Riley exchanged looks with Sam who was rolling his eyes too. _Everywhere?_ She mouthed to him and he coughed into his sleeve to hide a laugh. Dean sent them a dirty look.

Jake nodded at the trio. "They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake."

Andrea's face fell slightly at the mention of the lake. "Oh."

A little boy around the age of seven or eight appeared behind his mother and Riley smiled at him.

"Oh, hey there." Dean greeted the kid. "What's your name?" He asked him and he looked at them a moment before turning and walking back out of the room. Andrea gave them an apologetic look and followed him.

Riley turned to the Sheriff.

"His name is Lucas."

"May I ask something? Can he...speak? At all?"

Jake sighed. "My grandson's been through a lot. We all have."

Riley nodded. "I understand completely. I'm sorry." She understood that quite a bit. When she had first met John and Bobby she hadn't spoken hardly at all at first, just using gestures.

"That's all right, ma'am." He smiled at her grimly. "He's just had a hard time." He went over to his office door, a sign they needed to go. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

They exited the office and found Andrea and Lucas settled at a little table. Lucas was coloring a picture, content in his own little world.

Dean nodded at him. "Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

Andrea looked up from Lucas. "Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south."

"Two—would you mind showing us?" He flirted and she laughed. Sam and Riley sent each other looks again.

"You want me to walk you two blocks?" She asked skeptically, still giggling.

Dean gave her an "innocent" look. "Not if it's any trouble."

She shook her head. "I'm headed that way anyway." She turned to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She informed him and then bent to kiss the top of Lucas' head.

"We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?" She promised and turned to lead the out the door. Riley waved to Jake who nodded at her and she turned to catch up.

"That was quick thinking." Sam murmured to her as they exited the police department. Riley shrugged.

"I figured if we were pretending to be Wildlife people we better know the area."

He nodded and then sighed. "I'm sorry for this morning. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's fine, Sam. I know that feeling. When I lost..." She faltered, unable to utter a name. She shook her head. "I just get it." Sam gave her a one-armed hug and they looked up at Dean who was chatting away to Andrea. "It's hard for me to even say his name. I've avoided it for so long..." She turned to him. "I'm going to tell the whole story to you guys, I promise. It's just hard to relive it."

"It's not a big deal, Riley. Dean and I are here for you. Or at least I am." Sam murmured and she smiled.

"Thanks, Sammy."

"Kids are the best, huh?" They heard Dean say as they got closer and Riley snorted. Sam rolled his eyes.

Andrea gave Dean a look and then came to a halt. Ahead of them was a building and on the sign it read: Lakefront Motel.

"There it is. Like I said, two blocks." She told them.

Sam nodded at her. "Thanks."

She smiled and turned to Dean. "Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line."

Riley burst into laughter as Andrea began walking away, leaving a stunned Dean behind.

"Enjoy your stay!" She called over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

Sam snickered. "'Kids are the best'?" He mocked. "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids." His brother said defensively.

"Name three children that you even know."

Dean gazed off in thought and Sam smirked at Riley before waving a hand and walking off.

Noticing his brother walking away, Dean scowled. "I'm thinking!" Riley was still laughing. Turning his head, he glared at her. "Shut up, Blondie!"

* * *

Riley huffed at the table across from Sam and he looked up from his laptop. The girl was eyeing his big brother who was digging though their clothes bags and stopping every now and then to inhale of the item in his hands.

"Stop that!" She demanded and hopped up from the table to go over to him. Dean blinked as she took the item out of his hands. "Just give me the damn bag of clothes. They're probably all dirty anyway."

"I can give them the sniff test." Dean protested, snatching the shirt back from her and holding it to his nose. He coughed a bit and Sam rolled his eyes.

Riley grimaced in disgust. "Exactly why you should just hand them all over and I'll _wash_ them." She took the shirt from him once more and shoved it into a bag before throwing the bag to him. "Fill that."

"Women." The elder Winchester said under his breath and Sam shook his head.

"What'd you find, Sam?" Riley asked. She always knew when something was bothering him. She turned to him as did Dean.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year." He turned his laptop towards them, and Dean moved closer.

"Any before that?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam clicked a browser window. It was the local newspaper. Riley tossed the now full bag of dirty clothes by the door and came over to read over Sam's shoulder with Dean.

The headline read: _Drowning Taints Ice Fishing Festival._ The next one he pulled up was another issue of the newspaper this one reading: _12-Year-Old Girl Drowns in Lake, Second drowning in 6 months at Lake Manitoc._

"Six more spread out over the past thirty-five years." Sam informed them. "Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."

Dean frowned thoughtfully. "So, what, we got a lake monster on a binge?"

Sam shook his head. "This whole lake monster theory, it, it just bugs me."

"Well, with like Loch Ness or anything like that there were eyewitnesses." Riley added to his thinking and he nodded at her.

"Exactly and here there is almost nothing. Whatever it is out there, no one's living to talk about it."

He scrolled down to the comments section of the article, hoping to find something when Dean stopped him.

"Wait, Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"

Sam spotted the name. "Christopher Barr, the victim in May." He read aloud before clicking on the link to open a new page. _Local Man in Tragic Accident_.

Riley gasped as a picture loaded onto the screen. There was little Lucas Barr standing next to a police officer. "Oh my god..."

Sam grimaced. "Oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued. Maybe we have an eyewitness after all."

"No wonder he's so quiet." Riley murmured.

Dean nodded from next to her. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over." He glanced at her and their eyes met in mutual understanding. Dean had seen his mother die and Riley had watched her mother die. It was one of the things they understood about each other.

She sighed. "I think we're going to have to talk to him. I don't like bringing something like that up, but it may be our only shot."

"Didn't she say they were going to the park later?" Sam asked and she nodded.

* * *

An hour later, they walked to the park dodging running kids. Riley laughed at Dean's face.

"Hey, I thought you liked kids."

He swatted at her and she dodged him with a smirk. "Smartass."

Sam rolled his eyes and they headed over to where Andrea was sitting. Lucas was at a bench, coloring pictures.

"Can we join you?" He asked her softly and she looked up, glancing towards Dean.

"I'm here with my son."

Dean glanced at Lucas. "Oh. Mind if I say hi?" He wandered over before she could say a word.

Andrea arched an eyebrow. "Tell your friend this whole _Jerry Maguire_ thing is not gonna work on me."

"I don't think that's what this is about." Riley murmured to her.

Sam nudged her. "Go."

"No, Dean can handle it."

He gave her a look and she snorted. "Right. I'll go over." She walked over to see Dean trying to make conversation with Lucas, but the boy wasn't responding. She could tell he was listening though.

"So, crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists." Dean was saying as she approached. Riley smirked and then knelt next to Dean.

"Chicks can be artists too, Lucas." She stated and Dean rolled his eyes. He shifted through a few of Lucas' drawings.

"Hey, these are pretty good. You mind if Riley and I sit and draw with you for a while?" Dean picked up a crayon. "I'm not so bad myself."

"Mmhm." Riley teased and he glared at her.

She tilted her head at Lucas. "I think you can hear us, you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something really bad. And scary." Dean thought he saw the boy hesitate, but then brushed it off. Lucas kept coloring. "I think I know how you feel. When I was little, I saw something very scary and it was hard for me to talk about. Dean did too when he was your age."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I did. Anyway. Well, maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you, or, uh...or believe you. I want you to know that I will."

"Me too, Lucas. It's hard to be little and unheard. So, you talk when you want too."

"You don't even have to say anything. You could draw us a picture about what you saw that day, with your dad, on the lake." Lucas made no response and Riley shrugged. "Okay, no problem. This is for you." He held out his drawing to the boy. "This is my family." He pointed to each stick figure and Riley was biting her lower lip to keep from laughing at his drawing. "That's my dad. That's my mom. That's my geek brother, and that's me."

He saw Riley's attempt at holding back laughter and scowled. "All right, so I'm a sucky artist. Let's see what you did."

Riley handed Lucas a picture of Lucas drawing with Dean. Dean was impressed but tried not to show it. Even with just crayons it looked just like them.

"We'll see you around, Lucas." She said quietly and got up from the bench. Dean got up too and they headed back towards Sam and Andrea.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident." She was saying to Sam as they approached.

"Yeah, we heard. Sorry." Dean said softly and she nodded.

Sam looked at her. "What are the doctors saying?"

"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress."

"That can't be easy. For either of you." Riley murmured, glancing back at Lucas.

She sighed. "We moved in with my dad. He helps a lot. It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..." She trailed off and Dean smiled at her.

"Kids are strong. You'd be surprised what they can deal with."

Andrea sighed. "You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish-" She stopped when Lucas came over to them and she smiled. "Hey sweetie." The boy turned his head in Dean's direction, and he thrust his hand out, a paper in his fingers.

Dean smiled and took the offered paper. "Thanks." He held the drawing up and Riley smiled at the little house he had drawn. "Thanks, Lucas."

* * *

 _Black eyes and a menacing laugh, blood running down the walls and splashing on the ugly carpet, a fiery car explosion, icy cold hands touching her..._

"Blondie. Blondie!"

Riley sat straight up in the bed with a sharp gasp. A hand touched her arm and she turned her head to see Dean looking at her in concern. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, bare-chested, and she watched droplets of water run down his chest, her cheeks flushing at his abs and close proximity. He had just gotten of the shower apparently and, she tried not to notice and failed miserably, smelt so good.

"You okay?" He asked, smiling smugly at her. he had noticed her checking him out.

Scowling, she cleared her throat. "Um, yeah." She nodded, running a hand through her hair. "Nightmare."

"I could tell." He said, stifling a yawn and Riley winced, the lust turning into guilt.

"Sorry."

He shook his head.

"Sam was at it before you." He murmured and nodded over at the empty bed. He handed her a coffee from the drink carrier that was sitting on the table. "Went to get the paper." He said to her unasked question.

"Oh."

She sipped at the coffee, smiling softly. "Vanilla."

"You're favorite." Dean nodded.

"You remembered." She laughed and he shrugged.

"Girly coffee. Like Sam."

She laughed again and moved to get out of the bed.

Dean swallowed hard as she stood and stretched, the tank top rising to show her stomach as it stretched across her breasts. He turned his head to finish his coffee, but ended up looking at her again when she bent down to touch her toes. Her pajama shorts hugged her ass tightly and he made himself turn and go sit at the table. It was so hard not to turn and look at her though. He had never lost any of the feelings he had had for her, even when he upset her all those years ago.

 _"Dean get her out of here." John stated. "You both need to get away from this thing before it puts more feelings into you."_

 _The young man grabbed Riley's wrist and hurried out the door, trying to get away from the incubus' power. They exited the nightclub through the backdoor and into the alley._

 _It was raining heavily and they were soaked in seconds waiting for John to finish up._

 _Dean ran a hand along his face, trying to rid his mind of all of strange-lustful feelings he was still getting. It didn't help that Riley was against him, huddling from the cold rain. Angry that he had let it go so far and at her close proximity he shoved her away. The feeling was still there and he realized it hadn't been just the incubus' lustful potion. It both terrified and embarrassed him. What if his father found out? Or Bobby? They'd been so disappointed that he'd taken advantage of Riley, an innocent girl. He shouldn't have kissed her like that. He had to keep away from her._

 _"What was that for?" She asked, stumbling upright from his hasty push._

 _"Stay away from me for a bit." He snapped. "We've got to keep our distance. Once Dad kills the thing, the bad feelings go away and we'll be good again."_

 _She frowned. "Bad feelings? It felt good to me."_

 _He closed his eyes. Why did she have to say that?_

 _"Shut up. I shouldn't have done that. You're just a kid."_

 _"I'm almost sixteen." She snapped back and he glared at her in the rain._

 _"Fine. You're a teenager." He corrected. "But I'm an adult."_

 _"So? I meant what I said in there, Dean." Her lip trembled a bit as emotion covered her voice. "I love you."_

 _He was silent for a moment taking it in. His heart skipped a beat. No one had ever told him that, except his mother of course. But he couldn't let her know that he had feelings for her too, because he shouldn't. She shouldn't feel anything for him. His face hardened._

 _"No, you don't." He growled at her and internally winced at the hurt look on her face. "You don't know the first thing about love. You're still feeling that monster's spell. Give it time to go away."_

 _"I know what love is, Dean! I know you felt something too!"_

 _"No, you don't, you're just a damn kid. A baby. It shouldn't have happened and it will never happen again. I didn't feel anything but what that monster wanted me to feel."_

 _Riley's eyes filled with angry fire. "I'm not a baby!"_

 _"The case is over. We're not ever doing that again. And if you can't control yourself over this stupid infatuation which is not real-"_

 _John opened the backdoor of the club and came out, wiping his machete clean with a rag. "It's dead." He said and Dean tossed him the keys. "I'm going to bring the car around. Be ready to move." They watched him walk around the corner._

 _She shoved him hard in the chest and he stumbled back into the brick wall behind him. "You don't get to tell me if my feelings are real or not!" She hissed. Dean glared at her._

 _"You shouldn't have them. Your feelings are wrong."_

 _"So it's all my feelings? You had none for me?"_

 _"No. That's-No way. It's sick."_

 _"Sick?" She repeated, stepping back and he almost took the words back immediately. Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, I get it. I'm not some trampy bimbo with my breasts hanging out so I'm not good enough. Well, fuck you, Dean!"_

 _"Watch your mouth before Dad hears." He snarled._

 _"Whatever." She growled back. "Sorry for expressing my made-up feelings because obviously I am nothing to you. Wouldn't want John to hear about my-" She choked up a bit, eyes spilling tears and Dean reached a hand out, feeling guilty. She jerked away from him. "Don't touch me!"_

 _"Riles." He said and sighed. "I shouldn't have touched you like that. It's just confused you."_

 _"I'm not confused. I know what I felt, Dean."_

 _"Yes, you are. Oh, god...I'm sorry. I screwed up."_

 _"No, I get it. I get what you're sorry for. I'm just gullible. Great. So next time someone touches my hand I ought to keep myself from jumping into bed with them? You're an asshole and I hate you."_

 _She stomped off into the rain ignoring him calling her name._

Sam opened the door to the motel and Dean was grateful for the break from his memories. He had never forgiven himself for hurting her like that, for driving a wedge between them. And he doubted she had ever forgiven him either.

"So, I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie." His brother said, sitting down at the table too.

Riley stepped out of the bathroom, pulling her hair up into a ponytail.

"What do you mean?"

Sam glanced at her. "I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

Dean frowned. "He drowned?"

"Yep. In the sink."

"What the hell? So you're right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

Riley sat next to Sam.

"Yeah, but what?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source."

"The lake." Sam and Riley said at the same time.

Dean snorted at them. "Yeah."

Sam added: "Which would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time.

Riley frowned. "And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere."

"This is gonna happen again soon." Dean muttered and Sam sighed.

"And we do know one other thing for sure. We know this _has_ got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"Both of his kids are gone. He's the only one left." She said and Sam nodded.

"And I've been asking around. Lucas's dad, Chris—Bill Carlton's godson."

Dean grabbed his keys. "Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

* * *

Riley sighed quietly, watching the man as they approached the dock. He was staring out at the lake almost wistfully.

"You okay, Blondie?" Dean asked her and she turned her head. She hadn't realized he had heard her.

She nodded. "Yeah, it's just...Cases like this bother me. Too many deaths."

He nodded. "Yeah, I get that."

They walked in silence the rest of the way to the dock, Sam leading the way.

Mr. Carlton never turned his head to acknowledge them, but Riley knew that the man had heard them.

Sam cleared his throat. "Mr. Carlton?"

The man glanced at them briefly.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

Dean nodded. "We're from the, the Department-"

Bill cut him off. "I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today."

"Mr. Carlton. I know you don't want to talk to us, but your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?" Riley asked him but received no response.

"Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death—we think there might be a connection to you or your family." Sam added.

Bill shook his head. "My children are gone. It's...it's worse than dying. Go away. Please."

"Thank you for your time." Riley said quietly, watching the man look back over the lake with tears in his eyes. Slowly, the trio left for the car.

Riley followed the boys, deep in thought.  
What do you think?" Sam asked and Dean sighed.

"Aw, I think the poor guy's been through hell. I also think he's not telling us something."

They reached the car and Sam leaned against it.

"So now what?" Riley asked, coming up next to Dean. She noticed him staring off at the house. "Dean, what is it?" Sam turned to look at him too.

"Huh." Dean tilted his head. "Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something." He reached through the car window and pulled out the drawing that Lucas had made him. Riley's eyes widened.

"Lucas..."

* * *

As Riley had already figured, Andrea was more than skeptical about them speaking to her son again.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea." She said to Dean.

"I just need to talk to him." He told her patiently. "Just for a few minutes."

She frowned. "He won't say anything. What good's it gonna do?"

"Andrea," Sam began. "We think more people might get hurt. We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all." She said stiffly and Riley shook her head.

"If that's what you really believe, then we'll go." She said quietly. "But if you think there's even a _possibility_ that something else could be going on here, please let Dean talk to your son."

Andrea hesitated and the nodded slowly. "He's in his bedroom."

She led them up the stairs and they found Lucas sitting in his room, drawing. Toy soldiers were lined up in front of him.

Riley and Sam hung back in the doorway as Dean went and crouched by Lucas.

"Hey, Lucas. You remember me?"

Riley noticed that Lucas had drawn two pictures of the same red bicycle. Dean had too because he glanced at them briefly.  
"You know, I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again."

Lucas continued to draw on his picture. Riley couldn't see much of it, but it looked like a girl with blonde hair, standing in water.

Dean took out the picture of the house and unfolded it, laying it near Lucas and tapping it.

"How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me." Lucas ignored him and Andrea shifted next to Sam and Riley.

"You're scared." Dean said quietly. "It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talking, just like you." Riley felt Sam shuffle a bit and she put a hand on his arm. He smiled at her grimly. "But see, my mom—I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe, your dad wants you to be brave too."

Like he had said a magic word, Lucas dropped his crayon and looked up at Dean. He handed him a picture from his stack of drawings. It was a church next to a yellow house and a boy with a blue baseball cap and a red bicycle stood in front of a wooden fence.

"Thanks, Lucas." Dean smiled.

* * *

Riley leaned up between the seats to look again at the picture.

"There's something about that red bike." She said. "Lucas has drawn it several times."

"Yeah, I saw that too." Dean nodded. "Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died."

Sam nodded. "There are cases—going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies."

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Riley asked, biting her lip.

"I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please." Dean said to Sam who raised his hands.

"All right, we got another house to find."

Dean sighed. "The only problem is there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone."

"Well, maybe there's one next to this church." Riley pointed out.

"Right." Sam nodded. "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, College Boy thinks he's so smart." His older brother smirked.

"You know, um...What you said about Mom...You never told me that before."

Dean shrugged uncomfortably. "It's no big deal." Sam smiled soflty and then Dean noticed his brother still staring at him. "Oh God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?"

Riley burst into laughter. Sam just shook his head.

* * *

After a bit of searching, they found a little yellow house that was across from a white church. The little house had a fence in front of it like Lucas had drawn.

Mrs. Sweeney, the little old lady who lived in the house, invited them warmly inside.

"We're sorry to bother you, ma'am," Dean began. "But does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle." Dean described and the woman shook her head.

"No sir. Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now."

Riley was looking at pictures on a little table and then her eyes drifted over to where little toy soldiers were lined up. She elbowed Sam gently and he noticed them too.

"The police never— _I_ never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared." Mrs. Sweeney said, sounding on the verge of tears and Riley handed her a box of Kleenex. "Thank you, dear. Losing him—you know, it's...it's worse than dying."

"I can't imagine." Riley said softly. "Did he disappear from here? I mean, from this house?"

She shook her head. "He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up."

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Sweeney."

The woman nodded.

Dean picked up a picture that he spotted hanging on the mirror. In it were two boys, Peter with his red bike next to another boy. On the back were some words.

He read aloud: "Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen seventy."

Sam and Riley exchanged looks.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Sweeney." Riley told her as they headed for the door.

The little old woman took her arm and Dean turned back around too. Sam stayed in the doorway. "You don't think it will happen. I never did. But it does. So, take the advice of an old woman. Don't let your children out of your sight. Don't think they'll be safe, because no one is. Do you and your husband have any children?" Riley's cheeks reddened and Dean' eyes widened. Sam had to duck outside.

"No..." She said slowly. "And he's not my-"

"Well, when you do," The woman continued. "Love them everyday because you never know when it will be your last."

"Yes, ma'am." Riley said softly.

Sam laughed loudly when the door was shut behind them. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Sam." She scowled and he dodged the kick aimed at his knee.

* * *

Sam was frowning in concentration as Dean drove the Impala down the road.

"Okay, this little boy Peter Sweeney vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow." He muttered.

"Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?" Dean agreed.

Riley propped her chin on her arms. "And all the people that Bill loves are getting punished. So, I'm thinking that Bill did something to Peter."

"What if Bill killed him?" Sam questioned.

"Peter's spirit would be furious. It'd want revenge. It's possible." Dean supposed.

"We better get over there then because Peter will come for Bill if he hasn't already. We can't let him near the water."

He stepped on the gas at her words and Riley frowned worriedly out the window. _If he doesn't go for Bill...Andrea and Lucas could be next,_ she thought internally.

* * *

They pulled up to the Carlton house and got out quickly.

"Mr. Carlton?!" Sam called as they approched the house.

An engine started and Riley whipped her head around.

"He's going out on the lake!" She cried and ran for the dock, Dean and Sam not far behind.

Dean sprinted ahead of her when she slowed to keep from getting too close to the edge of the dock. "Mr. Carlton! You need to come back! Come out of the water! Turn the boat around!" He yelled, but the man ignored them.

"Mr. Carlton!" Riley shouted, but again was ignored. She screamed when the water rose up and flipped Bill's boat over. In mere seconds it was gone beneath the murky depths. "Oh, my god!"

Dean and Sam stared out at the spot.

"Well...I guess Peter got what he wanted." Dean said softly.

Sam sighed. "We should inform the police."

* * *

Riley frowned, getting a bad feeling as she followed Jake Devins. He was not pleased to see them nor was he happy with their story. She had a feeling he had done his homework about them.

They came around the corner and saw Andrea and Lucas. The boy was pale and kept rocking back and forth in his chair. Andrea looked up at them and smiled.

"Sam, Dean, Riley." She greeted curiously. "I didn't expect to see you here."

Jake frowned. "So now you're on a first-name basis. What are you doing here?" He asked in a softer tone.

"I brought you dinner." She said holding up the paper bag and the plastic container.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I don't really have the time." Devins apologized.

"I heard about Bill Carlton. Is it true? Is something going on with the lake?" She asked, looking from the trio to Devins.

Jake shook his head. Right now we don't know what the truth is. But I think it might be better if you and Lucas went on home."

At these words, Lucas makes a grab for Dean's arm, gripping it tightly.

"Lucas, hey, what is it?" Dean asked in concern, seeing the boy's panic. "Lucas."

Andrea came over, puzzled and concerned and took her son's arm. "Lucas."

"Lucas, it's okay. It's okay. Hey, Lucas, it's okay. It's okay." He tried to reassure him, but the boy looked at him and then at Riley, who tilted her head in confusion. Andrea finally got him to let go and started to lead him out the door, but Lucas didn't look away from Dean.

Devins watched them go before walking into his office, the trio followed him. The sheriff tossed his jacket over the chair.

"Okay, just so I'm clear, you see...something attack Bill's boat, sending Bill—who is a very good swimmer, by the way—into the drink, and you never see him again?" He asked aggressively, looking at each of them. Sam and Dean exchanged glances, while Riley frowned at him.

Dean's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, that about sums it up."

The man across from them snorted. "And I'm supposed to believe this, even though I've already sonar-swept that entire lake?" He mocked. "And what you're describing is impossible? And you're not really Wildlife Service?"

Sam and Dean looked surprised, but again Riley was frowning.

"That's right, I checked. Department's never heard of you three."

Dean opened his mouth. "See, now, we can explain that."

He raised a hand. "Enough. Please. The only reason you're breathing free air is one of Bill's neighbors saw him steering out that boat just before you did. So, we have a couple of options here. I can arrest you for impersonating government officials and hold you as material witnesses to Bill Carlton's disappearance. Or, we can chalk this all up to a bad day, you get into your car, you put this town in your rearview mirror, and you don't ever darken my doorstep again." He hissed the last bit at them, eyes narrowed and finger pointing.

"Door number two sounds good." Sam said automatically.

"That's the one I'd pick."

* * *

The Impala was silent. Dean and Riley were both brooding about the case. Sam just wanted to leave town.

"Green." Sam said suddenly, making Riley jump.

"What?" Dean asked in a daze.

"Light's green."

The Impala turned right. Riley smiled.

"Uh, the interstate's the other way." The younger Winchester stated, confused.

Dean nodded. "I know."

"But Dean, this job, I think it's over."

"No, it's not, Sam." Riley spoke up and he turned to her.

"If Bill murdered Peter Sweeney and Peter's spirit got its revenge, case closed. The spirit should be at rest."

Dean frowned. "All right, so what if we take off and this thing isn't done? You know, what if we've missed something? What if more people get hurt?

"But why would you think that?"

"Because of Lucas." Riley spoke up. "He's the one who's been seeing all of these things happen...What if the reason he's so scared is because it's not over?"

Sam sighed. "That's what this is about? The kid?"

"I just don't want to leave this town until I know the kid's okay." Dean pointed out.

"Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?"

"Shut up." Dean scowled.

"Well, I think it's sweet." Riley pointed out. "Besides, personally I think that sheriff is being awful shady."

"You just don't like him because he found us out." Sam said and she shook her head.

"No, it's more than that." She muttered and Dean glanced at her in the rearview mirror.

"Might be worth looking into."

Sam just shook his head. "But how do you know?"

"I just do, okay? I say we go check on Lucas."

Dean met her eyes again and smiled.

* * *

Sam frowned. "Are you sure about this? It's pretty late, guys."

They stood outside of Andrea's house.

"We just gotta check." Riley yawned and Dean rang the doorbell.

No sooner had he pressed the button, than Lucas slung open the door, panting in fear.

"Lucas?" Dean took his arm. "Lucas!" The boy turned and fled, leading the way up the steps.

Water was flooding out from under the bathroom door and down the steps. Carefully, they followed the little boy, hurrying to get to Andrea. Lucas ran to the door and began pounding on it. Dean took his arm and tugged him out of the way and Riley caught him, keeping him still as he kicked open the door.

As soon as the door was open, they could see Andrea's tub was overflowing but she was nowhere to be seen the darkened murky lake water. Sam ran in and stuck his arms under the water to grab at Andrea, trying to help her get out of the spirits grip. Lucas darted out of Riley's grasp and up to Dean and she grabbed Sam, trying to help him free the woman from the bath.

With their combined tugs, they pulled Andrea free and she started gasping for air and coughing up water. Riley crawled over to the door and pulled a bathrobe off the back hanger, handing it to Sam to give to Andrea.

"Thank you..." The woman whispered, shaking with fright. "Thank you."

* * *

"Think you were onto something with Devins." Dean said in her ear, startling her. She had been checking on Lucas.

"Look at this." He handed her a photo album.

"It's Peter in that one...I'm assuming that's Jake next to him?" She asked, pointing at a picture.

"That's my guess too."

He glanced at her again. her eyes were full of sparkle in the morning sunlight, her hair in a messy bun on top of her head. She was beautiful.

"So what do we do about Peter?" She asked, turning her head to look at him and he shook his head to clear it.

"I don't know yet. Something is keeping him here. The secret probably. We might have to confront Jake."

"Hooray. He was a bundle of joy."

Dean snickered. "Come on."

They went into the kitchen with Sam and Andrea.

Dean put the album in front of Andrea opening it to a page. He pointed at a particular one. It was a boy scout troop. Explorer Troop 37.

"Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?" He questioned.

Andrea looked confused.

"What? Um, um, no. I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must have been about twelve in these pictures." She pointed him out. Dean nodded.

"Chris Barr's drowning. The connection wasn't to Bill Carlton. It must have been to the sheriff."

Sam's eyes widened. "Bill _and_ the sheriff—they were both involved with Peter."

Riley looked over at Lucas who had walked silently into the kitchen. He was staring out the window.

Andrea wiped at her face tiredly. "What about Chris? My dad—what are you talking about?"

"Dean." Riley said suddenly and they glanced at her. She was looking at Lucas. Dean followed her gaze.

"Lucas? Lucas, what is it?"

The boy opened the door and walked outside.

They followed him.

"Lucas, honey?" His mom called, but the boy didn't stop until he got to a spot not far from the house. He looked at the ground and then at Dean.

Dean got his meaning. There was something buried there.

"You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?"

Riley turned to the boys. "Rock, paper, scissors on who doesn't dig?"

Sam rolled his eyes and Dean smirked.

"What's the matter? You actually lose to her?"

"Shut up." Sam muttered and went to get the shovels. He didn't even bother to play her.

Riley turned to Dean. "Ready?"

He shook his head. "Sam and I will dig. Don't dirty your hands. She kicked dirt on him, and he smirked. They had to find lighthearted moments when they could on cases. It kept them from being too far into the case and gave them a little reprieve. It helped to not bring it home at the end of the day.

A few minutes later, the boys had dug up a bike.

"Peter's bicycle." Riley murmured before she heard the click of a gun behind her head. Dean and Sam froze.

"Who are you?" Devins demanded, Riley didn't dare turn around.

"Put the gun down, Jake." Sam frowned, watching the man's hand nervously. It was steady, his aim still on Riley. Dean scowled.

"How did you know that was there?" Jake ignored him.

"What happened? You and Bill killed Peter, drowned him in the lake and then buried the bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeney thirty-five years ago. That's what the hell I'm talking about." He stated, eyes narrowed. Andrea ran up to them and Jake lowered his gun. Riley stood up and backed up, much to Dean's relief.

"Dad!" Andrea cried.

Dean stood his ground. "And now you got one seriously pissed-off spirit." He finished.

Sam nodded. "It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love. It's gonna drown them. And it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you, and it's not gonna stop until it does."

Jake snorted. "Yeah, and how do you know that?"

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton."

"Listen to yourselves. You're insane."

Riley turned to Sam and mouthed that she was going to check on Lucas. He nodded at her and watched her jog back to the house.

Dean watched her go too before speaking again. "I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us. But if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them, and burn them into dust. Now tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake."

Andrea turned to her father.

"Dad, is any of this true?"

Riley got close to the house and watched Lucas sprint off from the front steps. Eyes wide, she followed him. He was headed for the dock.

Jake shook his head. "No. Don't listen to them. They're liars and they're dangerous."

"Something tried to drown me. Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me." Andrea demanded and he did. "Tell me you—you didn't kill anyone." He looked away, unable to answer directly. "Oh my God."

He took a shaky breath. "Billy and I were at the lake. Peter was the smallest one. We always bullied him, but this time, it got rough. We were holding his head under the water. We didn't mean to. But we held him under too long and he drowned. We let the body go, and it sank."

Andrea was looking at the ground in horror.

"Oh, Andrea, we were kids. We were so scared. It was a mistake. But, Andrea, to say that I have anything to do with these drownings, with Chris, because of some ghost? It's not rational."

"All right, listen to me, all of you. We need to get you away from this lake, as far as we can, right now." Dean demanded.

"Dean! Sam! It's got him!" Riley screamed from the dock and they looked over to see her trying her best to pull Lucas back onto the dock. "Dean!" She was sliding on the dock.

Andrea gasped and they all ran for the docks.

"Lucas!" Jake yelled.

Riley tugged harder, but Peter was in his element. "Come play with me..." He whispered.

"Riles, hang on!" Dean yelled.

Riley screamed as she tugged headfirst into the water with Lucas. She came up for air, still holding the boy and tried to grab the dock.

Andrea screamed when she saw Lucas and Riley dragged down. Then there was only bubbles.

"Oh, my god!"

Sam and Dean ran to the end of the dock and dove off into the water.

Andrea started to join them, but Sam popped back up.

"Andrea, stay there! We'll get him! Just stay on the dock!" He told her and dove down again.

Dean popped up, looked around. Sam came up too.

"See her?"

"No."

Dean cursed and dove down again.

Andrea turned her head to see her father walking further out into the water.

"Peter, if you can hear me...please, Peter, I'm sorry. I'm so—I'm so sorry."

"Daddy, no!"

"Peter. Lucas—he's, he's just a little boy. Please, it's not his fault, it's mine. Please take me."

Dean came up for air again and spotted the man. "Jake, no!" He yelled, but it was too late.

"Just let it be over." Jake murmured and then he felt Peter grab his foot.

"Daddy! Daddy! No!"

The boys looked at one another and then dove down again.

Sam popped up and looked at Andrea, shaking his head.

Dean came up for air, Lucas in his grip.

Andrea sighed in relief.

"Where is she?" Sam asked worriedly.

"Dunno." Dean handed Lucas to him. "I'm going to look again."

He dove back in.

He finally found her. Her foot had been caught in a mess of tree branches. She hadn't been able to free herself and keep hold of Lucas.

Dean got her free after some difficulty and then hauled ass to the surface. Riley coughed as soon as they broke the surface and Dean held her close.

Their faces were inches apart. Dean could count the water droplets on her eyelashes.

"You okay?" He asked, sounding almost breathless.

She nodded silently and then asked: "Lucas?"

"Sam's got him."

Sam met him at the edge of the dock, helping pull Riley up.

Lucas was leaning against his mother, breathing in gulps of air. Dean pulled himself up. He handed Riley his jacket.

"Here."

Sam arched an eyebrow but kept his opinion to himself.

"Thanks." She said, teeth chattering.

* * *

Riley found Dean sitting outside and came to sit next to him.

"Andrea called. She said Lucas is fine. He's starting to talk again."

"Great. That's...That's great." He said, staring off into the darkened parking lot of the motel.

"Look, I'm sorry. I screwed up."

Frowning, Dean turned to her. She was tapping her knee with her fingers. "Huh?"

"Well, that's why you're pissed right? I didn't stop Lucas from going to the dock."

He sighed irritably and ran a hand through his hair. "No, I'm not pissed. You did what you could."

"Then what exactly did I do?" She demanded. "Ever since we came back here, you've been riding my ass and now the silent treatment."

"You almost died!"

"Okay, and? It's part of the job."

"You can't swim and you still went after him."

"Of course I did! Hell, I was scared."

"Well, it scared me too!" He snapped before looking away. Stunned, Riley settled back down next to him. "You...Thought you were dead."

Riley sighed. "Okay, yeah. I get it. well now you know how it feels. Sam and I were worried about you when that Wendigo got you." She held out her pinkie. "We can swear to not dive headfirst into danger, but I don't think that will keep."

He snorted. "Yeah."

"Thanks for diving in after me."

"This is yours." He said absently and handed her a necklace.

"Oh." She frowned taking it from him. "I didn't know I had lost it." She put it back around her neck. "Guess you saw the rings."

"Mmhm."

"The diamond was mine at one time." She admitted.

"You don't have to tell me."

"Actually, I think I do. You got this for me and saved my life." She bumped his shoulder. "Don't get a swelled head."

He smirked at her and she snorted. "Anyway..." She told him about her fiancé. and the events which lead her to working alone. "I wasn't doing too well as you saw." She was finishing up. Dean had leant her his jacket again when she had shivered from the cold. "So, I just decided to look for myself."

He nodded. "I get that. I'm sorry about your fiancé."

She sighed. "Me too."

"It wasn't your fault."

"Tell that to my subconscious."

"Fiancé huh? Jumping into marriage?"

"Let's not dive into that tonight." She muttered and stood up, handing him his jacket back. "I'm heading to bed." She turned and walked back into the motel room.

He stayed outside for a few minutes longer. How did that guy get so lucky to have Riley as his almost wife? What had made him so special?

He shook his head. It didn't matter...It shouldn't. But it did.

* * *

"Look, we're not gonna save everybody." Sam pointed out, thinking that was why his brother was so quiet.

"I know." He muttered, tossing a bag into the back seat.

"Hey, Andrea. Lucas." Riley greeted coming out of the motel lobby.

The boys turned to her and Andrea smiled.

"We're glad we caught you. We just, um, we made you lunch for the road."

"That's sweet."

"Lucas insisted on making the sandwiches himself." She added.

"Can I give it to them now?" The boy asked her and she nodded.

"Of course."

Dean smiled. "Come on, Lucas, let's load this into the car." They went to the car and Sam stepped over to Andrea.

"How you holding up?"

She shrugged. "It's just gonna take a long time to sort through everything, you know?

Riley sighed. "Andrea, I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "You saved my son. I can't ask for more than that. Dad loved me. He loved Lucas. No matter what he did, I just have to hold on to that."

They heard: "Zeppelin rules!" from the car and Riley laughed as Lucas high-fived Dean.

They went over to the car. "You take care of your mom, okay?" Dean told him and the boy nodded.

Andrea leaned over and kissed Dean on the lips. She pulled away slowly, smiling at his stunned expression. Riley shook her head.

"Thank you."

Embarrassed, he had no idea how to respond. So instead, he said: "Sam, Riley, move your asses. We're gonna run out of daylight before we hit the road."

Riley waved to the mother and son before getting into the car.

Lucas waved an they pulled out of the parking lot.

* * *

Sam turned from watching the town go by and smirked slightly. Dean was watching Riley every so often in the rearview mirror. The young woman was asleep already. He shook his head and looked back out the window. His brother could deny it all he wanted, but it was apparent that he had some feelings for her. only time would tell if he acted on them.

* * *

 _Review?_


	4. Phantom Traveler

Chapter 4: Phantom Traveler

Dean was startled out of deep sleep at slam of a door. As he became more aware, he realized that Riley was lying next to him, her hand curled around his bicep as she slept. She had anchored herself to him last night to feel safe and he felt heat and smugness in his chest at the same time. He lifted his head slightly to see her on stomach, the blanket pushed down below her butt. The pajama shorts she was wearing were tight and short and he eyed her ass appreciatively. He heard the door groan as it was opened and tensed. His fingers wrapped around the knife he kept under the pillow and turned his head as someone walked around the corner. He sighed with relief to see Sam standing there with coffee and a little carboard container.

"Morning, sunshine." His tall lanky brother greeted tiredly.

Groaning, Dean turned over onto his back. Riley lifted her head from the pillow at the sound of their voices.

"Time is it?" She yawned and tugged the sheet up to her chin much to Dean's disappointment.

Sam glanced at his watch. "Uh, it's about five forty-five."

"In the morning?" She said incredulously.

Sam nodded. "Yep."

"Too early!" She grumbled and hid under the blanket much to Sam's amusement.

"Where does the day go?" Dean muttered and sat up slowly, stretching his arms.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

Sam handed Dean a coffee cup.

"Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours." He muttered.

His big brother rolled his eyes, sipping at the coffee. "Liar. 'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman infomercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV."

"Coffee?" Riley said, thrusting her hand out from under the blanket. Dean snorted and took the cup from Sam. She sat up and took the cup from him, the blanket falling to her lap. "Thanks." She smiled at him.

He nodded at her and faced his brother. "When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern-" He began, but Dean cut him off.

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive, so I need you sharp." He smirked. "And it's my job to keep Riley's ass alive." She snorted.

"Wrong."

Dean snickered and then turned back to Sam, saying softly: "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?" Riley, much more awake, looked at Sam sadly.

The taller Winchester sat on the other bed and sighed.  
"Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything." He said and looked away for a moment. "I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you."

"You can't let it. You can't bring it home like that." He shook his head. Riley remained quiet. She hadn't had a nightmare last night and that was rare.

Sam sighed. "So, what? All this it...never keeps you up at night?"

Dean shook his head and his brother was skeptical.

"Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really."

Making a face, Sam reached across to pull something out from under Dean's pillow, a hunting knife. Riley arched an eyebrow as Dean took it back from him.

"That's not fear. That is precaution." He countered and set it aside. Riley smirked at that. She didn't blame him for sleeping with something under the pillow. You never knew what might come at you at any time. Sleep could make you vulnerable.

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue." The taller Winchester muttered and rubbed a hand across his face.

Dean was about to say something else when his phone began ringing. He answered it after giving the number that flashed across a glance.

"Hello?" He said and waited a moment before recognition when across his face. "Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It's not back, is it?"

He nodded at the answer. Riley looked at Sam who shrugged.

"What is it?" Dean looked at Sam and then at Riley. She realized that he wanted to go talk to this person. She nodded at him. Sam did too, though he looked a little reluctant.

"Yeah, sure, Jerry." Dean answered. "Tell me where to meet you."

* * *

They were at the hangar about three hours later, following an older man who introduced himself as Jerry Panowski. He was a short with a buzzcut and was a fast talker. Riley liked him.

"Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around." He said as he led them towards a set of offices in the back. Riley was admiring the planes as she walked. "Dean and your dad really helped me out." He said to Sam who nodded.

"Yeah, he told me. It was a poltergeist?"

A worker that passed them, tilted his head. " _Poltergeist_? Man, I loved that movie."

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking." He scowled at the man who passed them and Riley laughed. "Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart." He glanced at Dean. "Tell you something, if it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive." He nodded at Sam. "Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"

Sam looked taken aback. "Yeah, I was. I'm—taking some time off."

Jerry smiled. "Well, he was real proud of you. I could tell. He talked about you all the time."

"...He did?"

"Yeah, you bet he did."

Dean grinned smugly at his brother who was still blinking in shock. Jerry turned to Riley.

"And you...I knew I recognized you. John showed me a graduation picture of you. He was proud of you too. Said you liked to draw."

She looked at Dean and Sam in shock. "Yeah...I used to all the time."

Jerry smiled. "Showed me a picture you drew for him. It was amazing. I tell you, the way he spoke about you was like another one of his kids."

Riley swallowed, feeling tears trying to surface. "Oh." John hadn't seemed to take that much interest in her drawings except when she had copied something down for him. Hunting wise. A few of the pictures in the journal were made by her.

Jerry was talking to Dean again.

"Oh, hey, you know I tried to get a hold of him, but I couldn't. How's he doing, anyway?"

Dean shifted. "He's, um, wrapped up in a job right now." He lied and the man nodded.

"Well, we're missing the old man, but we get Sam and of course Riley too. Even trade, huh?"

Dean laughed and Sam shook his head.

"No, not by a long shot." He said under his breath.

Jerry opened the door to his office. "I got something I want you guys to hear."

They went inside and Dean waved at a chair next to Sam.

"Go ahead and sit."

"You sure?" She asked and he nodded, moving to stand behind her as she sat.

Jerry sat behind his desk and opened up the CD-ROM drive on his computer.

"I listened to this. And, well, it sounded like it was up your alley." He placed a disc inside and closed it up. "Normally I wouldn't have access to this. It's the cockpit voice recorder for United Britannia flight 2485. It was one of ours."

They heard the recording start and everyone went quiet.

 _"Mayday! Mayday! Repeat! This is United Britania 2485—immediate instruction help! United Britanis 2485, I copy your message—May be experiencing some mechanical failure..."_

There was a loud whooshing sound in the background and a growly sort of noise before it ended. Riley frowned deeply. There was definitely something off about the sound.

Jerry leaned back in his chair. "Took off from here, crashed about two hundred miles south. Now, they're saying mechanical failure. Cabin depressurized somehow. Nobody knows why. Over a hundred people on board. Only seven got out alive. Pilot was one. His name is Chuck Lambert. He's a good friend of mine. Chuck is, uh...well, he's pretty broken up about it. Like it was his fault."

Sam tilted his head. "You don't think it was?"

"No, I don't."

"Jerry, we're gonna need passenger manifests, um, a list of survivors-" Sam listed.

"We need to see the wreckage." Riley spoke up and Jerry looked at her.

"The other stuff is no problem. But the wreckage...the NTSB has it locked down in an evidence warehouse. No way I've got that kind of clearance."

Dean smirked. "No problem."

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Riley asked and Sam shrugged.

They heard the door open and looked over at the shop. Dean came swaggering out with something in his hand, smirking at the lady that passed him. Riley rolled her eyes.

"What took so long?" She demanded and he grinned at her.

"You can't rush perfection, sugarpie." He grinned and held up IDs. Riley tried her best not to react at his name for her. Blondie she was used to because it was used all the time. This one however sounded more...personal.

Sam took one of the cards and read it over. "Homeland Security? That's pretty illegal, even for us."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's something new. You know? People haven't seen it a thousand times." He went around and got in the car, the other two getting in as well.

"All right, so, what do you got?" He asked them and Riley held up a tape.

"Well, there's definitely EVP on the cockpit voice recorder."

"Yeah?"

Sam took the tape from Riley and popped it into the cassette player. "Listen."

The strange sound from earlier happened, but it turned into a scratchy voice saying: _No survivors!_

Dean frowned. ""No survivors"?" He repeated. "What's that supposed to mean? There were seven survivors."

His brother shrugged. "Got me."

"So, what are you thinking? A haunted flight?" He looked from Riley to Sam.

"There's a long history of spirits and death omens on planes and ships, like phantom travelers." Sam pointed out.

Dean nodded. "Mm-hmm."

"Or remember flight 401?"

"Right. The one that crashed, the airline salvaged some of its parts, put it in other planes, then the spirit of the pilot and copilot haunted those flights."

"Something similar?" Riley offered and Dean nodded.

"All right, so, survivors, which one do you want to talk to first?"

Sam held up the paper. "Third on the list: Max Jaffey."

"Why him?"

"Well, for one, he's from around here. And two, if anyone saw anything weird, he did."

Dean looked confused. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I spoke to his mother. And she told me where to find him."

"A psychiatric hospital." Riley chimed in and Dean's eyebrows rose.

"Huh."

* * *

Riley straightened her skirt, smiling at Max. Dean was trying his best not to eye her ass as she walked ahead of him and Sam. His brother shook his head and elbowed him.

Dean glanced at him. "What?"

"Do you have a thing for her?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Riley."

Sam smirked at his brother's open-mouthed response. He resembled a fish.

"What? No." Dean said quickly, stumbling over his words. "Me and Riles? Uh, no...She's like a sister." He scowled. Sam snorted.

"Uh-huh."

"I don't understand. I already spoke with Homeland Security." Max said from ahead of them.

"I know and I'm sorry. But it's only a few questions, Mr. Jaffey." She told the man pleasantly as they walked. "We're the more thorough group. We often have extra questions." Max merely nodded at her, mesmerized.

"Yeah, sure. Anything." He said and Dean rolled his eyes.

They went to a picnic table outside and sat down.

"Just before the plane went down, did you notice anything...unusual?" Sam asked and Max frowned.

"Like what?"

"Strange lights, weird noises, maybe. Voices." Dean listed and he shook his head.

"No, nothing."

"Mr. Jaffey." Riley said getting his attention.

"Call me Max."

She smiled brightly and nodded. "Max." She said and he grinned like a lovestuck idiot. Dean scowled. "You checked yourself in here. Why?"

"I was a little stressed. I survived a plane crash." He said simply, hiding the truth.

Riley leaned across the table. Max's eyes lowered to her cleavage and back up again slowly. "Something scared you. Made you so terrified that you put yourself in here."

"I don't...I don't want to talk about this anymore."

She put her hand on his. "Please, Max. We need to know what you saw. We know you saw something. It's okay."

"No. No, I was...delusional. Seeing things." He insisted.

Dean snorted. "He was seeing things."

"What is it, Max. Tell me what you thought you saw."

Max swallowed and nodded slowly. "There was...this—man. And, uh, he had these...eyes—these, uh...black eyes." Riley sat back, rigid in her seat. Sam saw the change and frowned. "And I saw him—or I _thought_ I saw him..."

"What?" She asked softly.

"He opened the emergency exit. But that's...that's impossible, right? I mean, I looked it up. There's something like two tons of pressure on that door." He said nervously, looking from Riley to Sam to Dean and back again.

Dean nodded. "Yeah."

"This man, uh, did he seem to appear and disappear rapidly? It would look something like a mirage?" Sam inquired, guessing that Riley wasn't going to speak again.

Max snorted at him. "What are you, nuts? He was a passenger. He was sitting right in front of me."

* * *

Dean glanced in the rearview mirror. Riley was staring out the window, quiet. She had been withdrawn since talking to Max.

Sam met his gaze, shrugging his shoulders. He didn't know what was up either.

Riley turned in her seat.

"Where are we now?" She asked and the boys blinked at her change.

"George Phelps, seat 20C." Sam told her and she nodded.

"He's the one who sat in front of Max."

"Right."

Dean turned around.

"Talk to me. What's going on?"

Riley sighed.

"If I didn't know any better...I'd think it was a demon."

Sam frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Black eyes, incredible strength? Not to mention the voice on the EVP. Yeah, I'd say so."

Dean frowned. "Yeah, I don't care how strong you are. Even yoked up on PCP or something, no way you can open up an emergency door during a flight. You might be onto something, Blondie."

"A demon for sure?" Sam questioned.

"I could be wrong, it could be something else, but that's the first thing that comes to mind."

"Maybe this guy George was something else. Some kind of creature, maybe, in human form."

"This doesn't look like a creature's lair."

"Doesn't mean anything." Riley said quietly. "They can look like ordinary people."

The boys didn't question her. They knew that her mother had been killed by a demon. And she had seen it.

"You good for this?" Dean asked her and she nodded at him. She seemed okay.

"Yeah." She smiled at him. "Let's get more info before we go down that path."

Sam led the way up the steps.

"This is your late husband?" He asked, holding up a picture frame. The man in the picture was smiling widely. A friendly looking man.

Mrs. Phelps nodded. "Yes, that was my George."

Dean tilted his head. "And you said he was a...dentist?"

She nodded again. "Mm-hm. He was headed to a convention in Denver." She took a breath. "Do you know that he was petrified to fly?" They shook their heads. "For him to go like that..."

"How long were you married?" Riley asked her and the woman turned to her.

"Thirteen years."

"In all that time, did you ever notice anything...strange about him, anything out of the ordinary?" Sam questioned.

The woman frowned. "Well...uh, he had acid reflux, if that's what you mean."

Riley looked at the boys who made faces.

They came back out of the house, Riley frowning in thought.

"I mean it goes without saying. It just doesn't make any sense." Sam looked at Dean as they went down the steps of the house.

"A middle-aged dentist with an ulcer is not exactly evil personified. You know what we need to do is get inside that NTSB warehouse, check out the wreckage."

Sam nodded. "Okay. But if we're gonna go that route, we'd better look the part."

They started for the car when Sam noticed Riley was lagging behind.

She rubbed at her forehead, looking pained.

"You okay?" He asked her, looking back at her in concern. Dean was getting into the Impala. "You've been awful quiet."

"It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Riley, it's been a while, but I still know when you're hiding something." He gave her a knowing look and she couldn't help but smile. "What is it?"

Her smile faded. "I have a bad feeling about this case, Sam." She admitted. "It's weird, but I can feel it."

Sam tilted his head. "You sure?"

She nodded.

"How long have you had these feelings? Do you feel it on every case?"

"No and that's what is bothering me." She looked nervous and that wasn't like her. Sam frowned. "I only feel this way about certain cases."

"Demons?" He asked softly.

"Maybe it's not what I think. I hope I'm wrong."

Dean turned to her when they got in the car.

"Here's the plan. Sam and I are going to go into the warehouse." She opened her mouth to protest, but he plowed on. "You get to be the lookout. There are other Homeland Security guys around here and if we all go in-"

"Okay, I'll be the lookout. I get it." She waved a hand. "I'll let you know how long you have."

"Great."

* * *

Riley whistled when Sam came out of the store, now donned in suits.

"Hello there, handsome." She smirked at him who snorted.

"Shuddup."

She gaped as Dean came out next, fidgeting with his tie.

"Man, I look like one of the Blues Brothers." He griped.

Sam turned to his brother. "No, you don't. You look more like a...seventh-grader at his first dance."

Dean glared down at the suit. "I hate this thing."

"Hey. You want into that warehouse or not?"

He went to the car, but didn't notice Riley's expression. She was looking at him like a lovestruck teenager. If she could have swooned, she would have. Sam did notice, however, and smirked. She saw him looking at her and she flushed.

"What? I can look..." She muttered and he just grinned.

* * *

"Blondie." He turned and tossed something at her. She opened her hand and blinked. It was the keys.

Sam's eyes widened. He never let just anyone touch those keys or give them over willingly. The fact that he did so, just made Sam surer of his assumption of his brother's fondness for Riley.

"You're the getaway driver. Watch Baby." He indicated the car by patting the wheel lovingly and she raised an eyebrow. "No joy riding."

"Go on. I've got this. I'll be right here." She told him, getting over her shock quickly. Dean nodded at her and he and Sam headed for the warehouse.

"Dude, you let her have the keys." Sam looked back over his shoulder at Riley. She was getting into the driver's seat of the Impala.

"Yeah, so?" Dean said gruffly ignoring his brother's smirk.

"You never let anyone touch those keys. You barely let me have the keys."

"How else is she going to get us the hell out of here without them?" He countered edgily.

"You do like her." He grinned. "I knew it. How long?"

"Shut up, Sam." Dean snapped with more aggression than Sam could understand. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I'm not making fun of you, man. Talk to me." His brother ignored him. "Is this about the last hunt you did together? The one with Dad? What happened that night?"

"Drop it." Dean snarled. "Me and Riley are not happening. I only gave her the keys because I trust her."

Sam blew out a frustrated breath as his brother stalked on. What had happened?

Riley pressed her phone to her ear.

"Hey, Daddy."

 _"Was wondering when you would pick up a phone."_ Bobby said gruffly and she sighed.

"I know. I'm sorry."

 _"How are you? Boys treating you okay?"_

She laughed. "I'm fine and so are they. I'm worried about Sam though."

 _"How's he doin'?"_

"Better, but he wants answers. And so do I."

 _"Look, princess, I want you to come home. Bring the boys with you."_

"Daddy-"

 _"Darlin', I don't know what else to tell you."_ He interrupted, sounding exasperated. _"I want you to come home."_

She knew it was futile to keep at it. To keep searching for answers.

"I'm helping the boys track down John. He's disappeared."

Bobby snorted. _"Probably leading you all on."_

She sighed. "Probably. It's just weird that he stopped answering his phone."

Bobby was silent for a moment. _"He'll turn up. He's too stubborn to be in real trouble."_ Riley laughed and then grew quiet.

"It should have killed me too." She said at last. "Why didn't it?"

 _"Because you weren't there. That wasn't your fault, do you understand me? You couldn't have known that would happen, princess. Now stop blamin' yourself for it! And stop thinking that you should be dead!"_

Riley sighed. "I know, okay? I know it's just like a fluke or something that kept me from going to that hotel room."

 _"Then let it go, darlin'. For me. Your dad."_

She smiled and wiped at her eyes. "I love you too."

He grumbled unintelligibly and she giggled.

She spotted a dark car pull up to the front of the hangar and two men in suits got out. She frowned.

"I gotta go. Dean and Sam are about to run into trouble. I'll call you later."

 _"Go bail the two idjits out."_

She laughed and hung up before dialing Sam's number.

"Hey, Sam, you and Dean better hightail it to the back door. Real feds coming in."

She laughed as the boys sprinted out of the hangar and climbed up and over the fence. Alarms were blaring loudly behind them. Dean used his coat to make rolling over the top easier and he dropped down before Sam did. He smirked at his brother saying something Riley couldn't understand and then they headed in her direction.

Sam leapt into the backseat at the same time Dean slid into the passenger seat and Riley didn't hesitate to drive quickly away from the scene.

"Thanks for the heads up." Dean panted from next to her and slung his coat into the back with Sam who shook his head.

"No problem." She said and turned to him. "Where to?"

"Back to Jerry." Sam leaned forward and held something in a baggy out for her to see. "Got this off the plane."

"What do you think it is?" She asked lightly, already having a guess, and he shrugged.

"Dunno, yet." Dean shrugged.

Sam eyed her. "Riles?"

"Well...It looks a lot like sulfur."

Dean cut his eyes toward her, she was frowning in concentration.

* * *

Riley paced behind the boys as they watched Jerry examine the sample from the plane.

"Huh." He said at last and they looked at him. Riley stopped pacing, tense.

"This stuff is covered in sulfur."

Sam swallowed. "You're sure?"

The man nodded and came out from behind his desk. "Take a look for yourself." A loud banging noise came from outside the office and a worker was yelling. Rolling his eyes, Jerry headed for the door. "If you'll excuse me, I have an idiot to fire." He went out the door. "Hey, Einstein!"

Riley snickered and then turned back to the boys.

Dean went to peer down into the microscope and then looked back up at them.

"You know, there's not too many things that leave behind a sulfuric residue." He met her eyes and she nodded.

"Demonic possession?" Sam said hesitantly.

Dean nodded. "It would explain how a mortal man would have the strength to open up an emergency hatch."

Sam looked at her. "If the guy was possessed, it's possible. What do you think?"

"Yeah. I mean, the guy was completely normal. It's got to be a demon possession."

Dean sighed. "This goes way beyond floating over a bed or barfing pea soup." He frowned in thought. "I mean it's one thing to possess a person, but to use them to take down an entire airplane?"

"You ever heard of something like this before?" Sam looked from Riley to Dean.

"Never." His brother said and they glanced at Riley.

She shook her head, but didn't speak.

* * *

Dean looked up from the paper in his hand and frowned.

Riley was rubbing at her temples.

"You okay, Riles?"

Sam looked up too.

"Hm?" She looked over at him. "Yeah, just got a headache."

He didn't believe her and neither did Sam. There was something else going on with her.

Sam leaned back with his computer. "So, every religion in every world culture has the concept of demons and demonic possession, right? I mean Christian, Native American, Hindu, you name it."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but none of them describe anything like this."

His brother shook his head. "Well, that's not exactly true. You see according to Japanese beliefs, certain demons are behind certain disasters, both natural and man-made. One causes earthquakes, another causes disease."

"And this one causes plane crashes?" He frowned and then stood up. "All right, so, what? We have a demon that's evolved with the times and found a way to ratchet up the body count?"

"Yeah." Sam said and then added softly: "You know, who knows how many planes it's brought down before this one?"

His brother snorted and turned away.

"What?"

He sighed. "I don't know, man. This isn't our normal gig. I mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. This is big. And I wish Dad was here." He sat back down on the bed and Sam grimaced.

"Yeah. Me too." He agreed softly.

He glanced over at Riley who had been silent most of the whole time. She was staring out the window, a faraway look in her eyes. Something was bothering her, but he wasn't about to ask in front of Dean because he had a feeling, she wouldn't tell him. After her headache explanation, he doubted she'd tell him either.

Dean's cell went off on the table and his brother went over to answer it.

"Hello?" Dean answered. "Oh, hey, Jerry." His brow furrowed. "Wha—Jerry, I'm sorry. What happened?"

Sam and Riley exchanged glances and then looked at Dean.

He met their gazes and silently they got ready to hit the road again. "Where'd this happen?" He snorted at the answer. "I'll try to ignore the irony in that. Nothing. Jerry, hang in there, all right? We'll catch up with you soon."

He hung up and Riley frowned. "Another crash?"

"Yeah."

"Where?" She and Sam asked together. Dean shook his head at them and then grimaced.

"Nazareth."

"That's definitely a demon."

* * *

After examining the wreckage, the trio headed back to Jerry with another sample of what they were positive was sulfur.

The man was looking at the sample under a microscope.

"Sulfur?" Riley asked when he leaned back.

"Yep." He nodded.

Dean scowled. "Well, that's great. All right, that's two plane crashes involving Chuck Lambert. This demon sounds like it was after him."

"With all due respect to Chuck, if that's the case, that would be the good news." Sam interjected.

His brother looked at him. "What's the bad news?"

"Forty." Riley answered for him. "Chuck's plane went down in exactly forty minutes into flight."

Sam nodded. "And get this, so did flight 2485."

Jerry raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Forty minutes? What does that mean?"

"It's biblical numerology." Dean told him. "You know Noah's ark, it rained for forty days. The number means death."

Sam added: "I went back, and there have been six plane crashes over the last decade that all went down exactly forty minutes in.

"Any survivors?"

He shook his head. "No. Or not until now, at least, not until flight 2485, for some reason. On the cockpit voice recorder, remember what the EVP Said?"

""No survivors."" Riley said aloud.

Dean began thinking hard. "It's going after all the survivors. It's trying to finish the job."

"We've got to make sure that no one else is planning on flying." She said and Sam nodded.

* * *

"Really? Well, thank you for taking our survey," Riley said brightly into the phone. Dean couldn't help but smile at her overly helpful voice. "And if you do plan to fly, please don't forget your friends at United Britannia Airlines. Thanks." She hung up and leaned back against the seat.

"All right. That takes care of Blaine Sanderson and Dennis Holloway. They're not flying anytime soon."

Sam checked them off the list.

Dean nodded. "So our only wildcard is the flight attendant Amanda Walker."

Sam leaned up between the seats. He and Riley had switched seats for a while. He had said he wanted the rest and Riley hadn't argued. He really had needed it.

"Right. Her sister Karen said her flight leaves Indianapolis at eight pm. It's her first night back on the job."

"That sounds like just our luck." Dean muttered.

"Dean, this is a five-hour drive, man, even with you behind the wheel."

"Call Amanda's cellphone again, see if we can't head her off at the pass."

Riley groaned and dug the heels of her palms into her forehead, "I already left her three voicemails. She's had to have turned her phone off for the flight."

Sam sighed. "God, we're never gonna make it."

"We'll make it." Dean gunned the gas, sending them rocketing forward.

Sam quickly grabbed the back of the seat with a yelp, while Riley whooped excitedly.

The elder Winchester just grinned.

* * *

They made it to the airport in record time. Tires squealing, Dean turned into the first available space and they were jumping out as soon as he cut the engine off.

Sam stopped his brother from walking towards the doors to the airport. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean looked at him. "Dean. We're about to walk into an airport?"

His brother gave him a look and huffed before opening the Impala's trunk. He divested himself of weapons, then closed the trunk.

"I feel naked." He grumbled and Riley snickered.

"You don't look it."

"In your dreams, sugarpie." He winked at her.

"Every night, handsome." She teased back and Sam rolled his eyes.

Sprinting, they ran into the crowded airport.

"There's the departure board!" Riley pointed out and led the way over to it.

Sam found the flight in seconds. "Right there. They're boarding in thirty minutes.

Dean nodded. "Okay. We still have some cards to play. We need to find a phone."

"Courtesy phone on your left." The blonde told him and they hurried over to the machines.

Dean lifted the receiver and put it to his ear.

 _"Airport Services."_ Said in the voice in his ear.

"Hi. Gate thirteen."

 _"Who are you calling, sir?"_

"I'm trying to contact an Amanda Walker. She's a flight attendant on flight, um..." Riley held up her fingers. "Flight 4-2-4." He waited, shifting impatiently. "Come on."

 _"This is Amanda Walker."_

Dean almost sighed with relief. "Miss Walker. Hi, this is Dr. James Hetfield from St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We have a Karen Walker here."

 _"Karen?"_

"Nothing serious, just a minor car accident, but she was injured, so—"

Amanda cut him off. _"Wa—wait, that's impossible. I just got off the phone with her."_

He froze. "You what?"

 _"Five minutes ago. She's at her house, cramming for a final. Who is this?"_ She asked in annoyance and apprehension.

"Uh, well...there must be some mistake." He said quickly. Riley and Sam exchanged looks and tried to hear the conversation. Dean scowled at them in annoyance.

 _"And how would you even know I was here? Is this one of Vince's friends?"_

Dean found something he could work with. "Guilty as charged."

 _"Wow. This is unbelievable."_ She scoffed.

"He's really sorry."

 _"Well, you tell him to mind his own business and stay out of my life, okay?"_

"Yes, but...he really needs to see you tonight, so—"

 _"No, I'm sorry. It's too late."_

Dean panicked. "Don't be like that. Come on. The guy's a mess. Really. It's pathetic."

 _"...Really?"_ Amanda said softly.

"Oh, yeah."

 _"Look, I've got to go. Um...tell him to call me when I land."_

She hung up before he could speak. "No, no. Wait, Amanda. Amanda!" He slammed the phone down. "Damn it! So close."

Sam sighed. "All right, it's time for plan B. We're getting on that plane." Riley nodded and they turned to go.

"Whoa, whoa, now just hold on a second." Dean said quickly. They looked back at him. His eyes were wide.

His brother frowned. "Dean, that plane is leaving with over a hundred passengers on board, and if we're right, that plane is gonna crash."

"I know." He said simply. It wasn't like him at all. Riley watched him curiously. Something was up.

"Okay." Sam didn't see a reason not to get on the flight. "So we're getting on the plane, we need to find that demon and exorcise it. I'll get the tickets. You get whatever you can out of the trunk. Whatever that will make it through the security. Meet me back here in five minutes."

Dean shifted anxiously, looking pale. Riley's eyes widened as she realized why he looked so off.

Sam frowned in concern. "Are you okay?"

"No, not really." He muttered.

"What? What's wrong?"

He shifted again, trying not to look too out of it, but Riley could see how uncomfortable he was becoming.

"Well, I kind of have this problem with, uh..."

"Flying." Riley supplied lightly.

He nodded, eyes flickering over to her briefly.

"It's never really been an issue until now."

Sam's jaw dropped. "You're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" He snapped in aggravation and embarrassment. "Why do you think I drive everywhere, Sam?"

"All right. Uh, I'll go."

"What?" He said incredulously.

"I'll do this one on my own."

Dean's eyes widened comically and he sputtered out almost hysterically: "What are you, nuts? You said it yourself, the plane's gonna crash!"

"Look, I'll go." Riley spoke up. "I've dealt with demons before. One more won't make a difference. You guys wait here."

Dean took her wrist in a tight grip, squeezing to hide his nervousness. "No."

She looked at him sympathetically. "Dean, either you let me go take care of this or we do it together. We don't have another option."

"Not alone." He said and Riley smiled.

"Not alone." She repeated and moved her hand so that he ended up holding her hand, not her wrist. That made him squeeze tighter. "Let's get what won't get taken from us at security. Get the tickets, Sam."

Sam nodded and ran off to get them before it was too late.

Riley tugged Dean out the door, still holding his hand.

* * *

Flip. Flip. Flip.

The frantic flipping of the safety card came from her left again and she looked over at Dean. His hand was shaking, but he was trying his best to not show fear. He was looking over the airplane safety card that showed what to do in emergencies. Seatbelts, airbags, etc.

Sam glanced at him too.

"Just try to relax." He murmured.

Dean glared at him. "Just try to shut up." He snapped shakily.

The plane was taking off now, rumbling down the runway. He jumped at the sounds, twitching in his seat.

"The wheels are retracting." She whispered to him when he looked panicked at the loud noise. Riley frowned at Sam when he smirked. She took one of Dean's hands between her own, holding it securely. When they find started their ascent, he leaned back against the cushioned headrest, closing his eyes.

Humming came from Dean seconds later and she tilted her head.

"You're humming Metallica?" Sam asked before she could.

Dean nodded jerkily. "Calms me down."

Sam sighed. "Look, man, I get you're nervous, all right? But you got to stay focused."

"Okay."

"I mean, we got thirty-two minutes and counting to track this thing down, or whoever it's possessing, anyway, and perform a full-on exorcism."

"That's not helping, Sam." Riley scowled at him and he shrugged helplessly.

"Yeah, on a crowded plane. That's gonna be easy." Dean snarled and she squeezed his hand.

"Let's look at what we have to work with. It'll be possessing someone with some kind of weakness, right?"

Dean nodded, looking a little like himself. "Right, a chink in the armor that the demon can worm through. Somebody with an addiction or some sort of emotional distress."

Sam nodded too. "Well, this is Amanda's first flight after the crash. If I were her, I'd be pretty messed up."

"Mm-hm." He hummed and turned to a flight attendant.

"Excuse me. Are you Amanda?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"Oh, my mistake."

The woman left and Riley leaned across Dean to look down the aisle of the plane. Dean gripped hard at her hand. He probably thought she would get up.

"That must be Amanda in the back. Want me to go talk to her?"

"No. I-I'll go. And, uh, get a read on her mental state."

Sam nodded. "What if she's already possessed?"

"There's ways to test that." Dean leaned down, releasing Riley's hand and dug through his carry-on bag. He pulled up a Virgin Mary-shaped bottle of water. "I brought Holy Water."

"Nice bottle." Riley snickered.

Sam snatched it from him. "No. I think we can go more subtle. If she's possessed, she'll flinch at the name of God.

Dean nodded. "Oh. Nice." He unbuckled and started to get up slowly.

"Hey." Sam called, leaning across Riley.

"What?"

"Say it in Latin."

"I know." Dean muttered and started to leave.

"Hey!" Sam said again and Dean turned back, glaring daggers at him.

"What?!" He hissed.

"Uh, in Latin, it's "Christo"."

"Dude, I know! I'm not an idiot!" He scowled and took off.

Riley turned her head to watch Dean make his way to the back of the plane. She winced when the plane shook, and he had to slap a hand on the seat next to him to steady himself.

"He make it back there?" Sam asked.

"Yeah...I had no idea flying scared him."

"Me neither." He replied quietly before sighing. "Look, I know it's not my business, but seriously...what happened with you two? What happened that last hunt you did? The two of you were acting so weird that night. And then you specifically asking to go on hunts with me and not Dean. You always wanted to go with Dean."

Riley sighed heavily. "It's complicated, Sam. We had a falling out was all. It was bad."

"But you guys argue all the time."

"Sam, trust me. It's better you don't know the story. Just know that I was stupid. I was fifteen and so very stupid."

"Oh..." He wanted to ask more but decided against it.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Riley muttered. "And we need to focus on the demon. If it's not got Amanda, we need to be thinking about who else."

Dean came back and sat down.

"All right, well, she's got to be the most well-adjusted person on the planet."

"So, no demon?" Riley asked.

"No."

"You said "Christo"?" Sam question and Dean nodded.

"There's no demon in her. There's no demon getting in her."

"So, if it's on the plane, it can be anyone. Anywhere." He muttered.

Riley faced the front of the plane, frowning as she looked around. it had to be someone who could crash the plane. The pilot or co-pilot for example. She unbuckled her seatbelt.

The plane shook and Dean panicked.

"Come on! That can't be normal!" He exclaimed.

"Hey, hey, it's just a little turbulence." Sam assured him.

He whipped his head around. "Sam, this plane is going to crash, okay? So quit treating me like I'm friggin' four." Riley tried to get up and he grabbed her arm. "Where the hell are you going?! Sit down!" He panicked. "The plane is shaking."

"You need to calm down." Sam told him.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't."

"Yes, you can."

Dean scowled. "Dude, stow the touchy-feely, self-help yoga crap, it's not helping."

Riley took his face in her hands and turned her towards him. Dean's mouth went dry. "Listen to me." She said sternly and that got his attention. "If you're panicked, you're wide open to possession. So take a deep breath and try to calm down. Right now, Dean."

He nodded and inhaled slowly then exhaled harshly.

"Better," She said.

Sam pulled a book out. "I found an exorcism in here that I think is gonna work. The Rituale Romanum."

"It expels the demon and sends it down under." Riley stated.

"It's in two parts. The first part expels the demon from the victim's body. It makes it manifest, which actually makes it more powerful.

Dean scowled. "More powerful?"

"Well, it doesn't need to possess someone anymore. It can just wreak havoc on its own."

"Because you can send the sucker back down to hell. Ignore that powerful part. The second part is where you need to focus on. I know it front and back. I don't need the book. We just need to pinpoint the bastard."

Riley went towards the front of the plane where Sam and Dean were talking quietly. She turned her head to see Dean eyeing the copilot as he headed in her direction and she narrowed her eyes as the man drew closer.

"Christo." She said and his eyes blinked black. He knocked her out of the way with a wave of his hand and winking at her, disappeared into the cockpit.

Sam grabbed her arm and helped her up.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. That son of a bitch. We've got to get him out of there before he makes us crash."

The went towards the back of the plane to where Amanda was.

"She's not gonna believe this." Sam muttered and Dean scowled.

"Twelve minutes, dude."

Amanda turned to them and smiled. "Oh, hi. Flight's not too bumpy for you, I hope."

"Actually, that's kind of what we need to talk to you about." Dean told her and she tilted her head. Sam pulled the curtains closed.

"Um, okay. What can I do for you?"

Dean shifted. "All right, this is gonna sound nuts, but we just don't have time for the whole "the truth is out there" speech right now."

Riley took over. "We know you were on flight 2485."

The attendant's smile faded. "Who are you guys?"

"We're not here to hurt you. we're here to help." Riley told her. "We've spoken to some of the other survivors. We know something brought down that plane and it wasn't a mechanical failure."

Dean nodded. "We need your help because we need to stop it from happening again. Here. Now."

She looked frightened. "I'm sorry, I—I'm very busy. I have to go back—" She tried to pass them, but Dean stopped her.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a second. I'm not gonna hurt you, okay? But listen to me, uh...The pilot in 2485, Chuck Lambert. He's dead."

Amanda froze. "Wait. What? What, Chuck is dead?"

"He died in a plane crash. Now, that's two plane crashes in two months. That doesn't strike you as strange?"

"I—" She was at a loss for words.

Sam sighed. "Look, there was something wrong with 2485. Now maybe you sensed it, maybe you didn't. But there's something wrong with this flight, too."

Riley could see something in the woman's eyes. "What Amanda? What did you see?"

"On...on 2485, there was this man. He...had these eyes."

The shorter blonde nodded. "Yes, that's what we're trying to tell you."

"I don't understand, what are you asking me to do?"

Dean frowned. "Okay. The copilot, we need you to bring him back here."

"Why? What does he have to do with anything?" She asked in confusion.

"Don't have time to explain. We just need to talk to him. Okay?"

Amanda bit her lip. "How am I supposed to go in the cockpit and get the copilot—"

"Do whatever it takes." Sam interrupted. "Tell him there's something broken back here, whatever will get him out of that cockpit."

She swallowed. "Do you know that I could lose my job if you—"

"We're trying to prevent another crash." Riley said desperately. "Please Amanda, you've got to help us."

The woman hesitated and then sighed. "Okay."

She went out of the curtain and Riley dug out duct tape, Holy Water, and John's journal form Dean's bag while he and Sam watched Amanda talk to the co-pilot.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" The co-pilot asked, stepping behind the curtain. Dean punched him in the face and the man fell to the ground. He jumped him and pinned him to the ground, duct taping his mouth.

"Wait. What are you doing? You said you were just gonna talk to him." Amanda yelped.

"We are gonna to talk to him." Sam tossed Holy Water on the man's face. He screamed behind the duct tape, his skin sizzling.

"Oh, my god. What's wrong with him?!" The flight attendant shrieked.

Riley turned to her. "Trust us. Go wait outside the curtain. Don't let anyone in. Okay?" The woman nodded and left.

She knelt by the demon.  
Hurry up, Sam. I don't know how much longer I can hold him." Dean grunted, but Riley pushed past Sam.

"Regna terrae, cantate Deo, psallite Domino—" She began, much to the Winchesters' amazement.

The demon broke loose from Dean and kicked Riley backward in the wall. She wasn't deterred however and kept going as the boys wrestled him down again. with a snarl, the demon bucked the guys off of him and ripped the tape off his mouth. It grabbed Riley by the throat and jerked her close.

"Shut up, bitch!" It tossed her into the wall, where she slammed hard and fell.

"Riley!" Sam tried to go to her, but the demon grabbed his collar.  
"I know what happened to your girlfriend!" It hissed. "She must have died screaming! Even now, she's burning!"

Dean tackled the demon off his brother and sparred Riley a glance. She was coming to slowly, moaning.

"Sam!"

His brother was sitting there, stunned, but got over it quickly at the shout of his name. Sam grabbed his dad's journal and started reading again from where Riley had stopped.

He had to put the book down to help hold the demon however and it kicked the book and send it sliding down the aisle.

With a scream, the demon lurched up out of the man in inky black smoke. Slowly it rose and then disappeared into the air vent.

"Where'd it go?" Riley asked, slowly getting up out of the floor. Blood was trickling down her forehead.

"It's in the plane. Hurry up. We got to finish it." Dean said and wrapped an arm around her to help steady her.

Without warning, the plane dipped and heaved violently. People screamed and panicked as they were tossed about. Dean was thrown backward and against the exit door with a cry, holding onto the wall for dear life. Riley hit the floor next to him and he scrambled to get a hold of her. They were hidden behind the curtain.

She was pressed against his body tightly and he had his face in her neck, terrified as the plane started its horrible, stomach jerking decline.

From his arms, Riley started loudly reciting the rest of the exorcism, shouting over the screams of the people. Dean, listened to her, her confident voice soothing him and held her tighter. He was too worried about the crash to really take in that he was holding her.

The plane began to shake, and a bright electrical change ran through the entire thing, startling everyone. Just as suddenly as the plane had dipped. it evened over, stabilizing.

The demon was gone. They had won.

Dean slumped against the wall and she turned to him.

"You okay?"

"Never. Never again." He said, closing his eyes briefly, and she smiled.

"I think I'd rather ride in the Impala too."

He gave her a shaky smile back.

"That was impressive. That whole thing." He awkwardly got out.

"Comes in handy." She stood and offered her hand to him. "Soon as we land, I'll buy you a drink." He took her hand and she pulled him up.

Sam met them at the curtain. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah. Riles kicked its ass." Dean told him and the younger man smiled.

"I'm glad you knew that. I couldn't reach dad's journal from where I was."

* * *

They stuck around the airport long enough to listen to Amanda answer the FBI agent's questions. She never gave them away. She mouthed "thank you" to them and they nodded at her before leaving.

"Let's get out of here." Dean muttered.

Sam was shuffling along quietly, and he turned to him.

"You okay?"

He shook his head. "Dean, it knew about Jessica."

"Sam don't listen to it. Demons lie and manipulate. That's all it was." Riley told him. "Their goal is to catch you off guard and sometimes they read minds or something."

"Yeah." He muttered quietly.

"Come on. Riley's buying beer." Dean said and went towards the exit. Sam glanced at him and then at Riley.

"I know, Sam, but demons are capable of a lot of things." She turned to him. "There's been plenty of times that I've had one say something personal to me. That's just how they are. Manipulating and twisting things around. Making you vulnerable to mistakes."

"They can't read minds, can they?"

"No, but Sam?"

He looked at her.

"They do lie. A lot. To hurt. Don't listen to it."

He only nodded.

* * *

Jerry met them at the car.

"Nobody knows what you guys did, but I do. A lot of people could have been killed." He shook their hands. "Your dad's gonna be real proud." He smiled at Riley. "At you too, young lady." She laughed and hugged the man.

"Thanks. We'll see you around, Jerry."

Sam and Riley started to get into the car and Dean hesitated.

"You know, Jerry."

"Yeah?"

"I meant to ask you, how did you get my cellphone number, anyway? I've only had it for like six months."

Jerry looked confused. "Your dad gave it to me."

Sam paused. "What?"

Dean frowned. "When did you talk to him?"

The man rubbed his neck. "I mean, I didn't exactly talk to him, but I called his number. His voice message said to give you a call. Thanks again, guys."

* * *

Sitting on the hood of the Impala, the trio looked at Dean's cellphone. They were parked just outside the airport grounds. From where they were, they could watch the planes come and go overhead to the runway.

Sam scowled. "This doesn't make any sense, man. I've called Dad's number like fifty times. It's been out of service."

"I called him for help on a case a week before Dean found me. His voicemail was his normal one." Riley murmured.

Dean dialed their dad's number, putting the phone on speaker.

"This is John Winchester. I can't be reached. If this is an emergency, call my son, Dean. 785-555-0179. He can help." The voicemail ended.

Frustrated, Sam jumped off the hood and got inside the car.

Riley turned to Dean who was staring at his phone.

"What is he doing, Dean? Why is he doing this"

"I don't know." He said softly. "It's frustrating as hell though." He slid off the car and Riley followed suit. They got into the car, Sam had gotten in the back and was staring moodily out the window.

* * *

Dean rolled onto his side, frowning when he saw Riley's bed was empty. Sitting up, he saw the light on under the door to the bathroom. Sam had wanted to be alone and his brother knew better than to argue that. So he was in the adjacent room.

"Riles?" He knocked softly on the door and frowned when he heard retching. Pressing open the door, he saw her leaning over the toilet, her hair in a messy bun on her head.

"You okay?"

She flushed the toilet and wiped at her mouth with a towel before turning towards him.

"I'll be fine. It happens."

"When? I've never seen you do that. At least recently. You get a concussion from that demon throwing you?" He went over and tilted her head back, examining the bandage on her head.

"No. I-I get sick after dealing with demons."

Dean's hand fell. "Oh. Why?"

"Trauma? PTSD? I don't know." She admitted. "I just get ill. Lasts about a day or so. I'll be fine." She got up from the floor and went to brush her teeth. "Did I wake you?"

"I was already waking up." He said, shaking his head.

"Nightmares?"

"Can't shut off my thinking."

Riley finished brushing her teeth and rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash. She knew he was trying not to show weakness. That he was still scared about the plane experience.

"Dean, can I sleep with you?"

He blinked at her. What did she just say?

"Huh?"

"I'm not...I can't leave it at the door. I bring it in. I can't shake cases sometimes."

His confusion faded. "Yeah, come on. It's late." He went back to bed and Riley turned off the bathroom light.

He lay stiffly on his side of the bed, mind wandering to places it shouldn't when he heard clothing hitting the floor. She was changing into her pajama shorts. She claimed she couldn't sleep comfortably in pants.

He felt the bed dip down and rolled over to face the window, his back to her.

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for...you know. not making a big deal."

She moved in the bed, sitting up and he rolled onto his back.

"You thought I'd make fun of you?"

He shrugged.

"I know how it feels to be scared of something. When I was eight, Bobby took me fishing. We were waiting on the fish to bite when I felt a tug on mine. I don't remember what I snagged it on. Could have been a fish, but anyway, it was too big and heavy, and it drug me off the boat. I had taken my lifejacket off to eat lunch and wasn't expecting my line to move."

Dean listened attentively.

"It got dark and I couldn't breathe...It was so dark and cold... Bobby pulled me out, but after that I stayed out of the deep water." She shrugged. "Never learned to swim because of it."

She yawned and so did he.

She slid back down under the covers and Dean turned on his side to face her. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Goodnight." She murmured and rolled onto her stomach. Dean resisted the urge to stroke her hair, to kiss her and rolled to face the opposite direction. He thought for a moment that he wouldn't be able to sleep, but his eyes were shutting tiredly. Maybe it was because she was next to him. He wasn't sure, but he welcomed the sleep all the more and shut his eyes.

He felt Riley move and press her back against his and he smiled, eyes still closed and drifted off.

* * *

 _Review?_


	5. Bloody Mary

Chapter 5: Bloody Mary

Riley walked back over to the Impala, being careful not to spill the three cups of coffee and the mini cinnamon buns she was toting. Reaching the car, she saw Dean tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, probably in time to some song on the radio. She smiled a bit, shaking her head. He was still such a goofball at heart. A movement from the backseat caught her attention and had her frowning in concern. Sam was tossing and turning, his head shaking like mad dog. Another nightmare.

Sighing, she shifted her items to one arm and opened the passenger side door.

Dean turned his head when the door opened, and he grinned at her so widely that she nearly dropped the items in her hands at how it weak in her knees it made her. _Dumbass_. She scolded herself and returned the smile, butterflies in her stomach.

"Whatcha got, Blondie?"

"Coffee and mini cinnamon buns." She replied and handed him the bag first before sliding carefully in the leather seat. Setting the container on the dash, she shut the car door and turned her head to face Sam.

"He's having a nightmare."

"I know." Dean grimaced and shoved an entire mini cinnamon bun into his mouth. "It's every time he sleeps." He added with a mouthful of food.

Riley snorted at his eating habits and then snatched the bag from him. "Share, you swine."

He only smirked at her.

After finishing their coffee in silence, Dean glanced back over at her.

She was taking her hair down from her braid, running her fingers through it and the faint scent of strawberries filled the car as she shook out the waves the braid had made. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting it wash over him. Ever since the night she had asked to sleep next to him, his mind had been a whirl of emotions and confusion. He couldn't deny his attraction to her, it had grown since she had been traveling with them, even his brother had picked up on it and so he had tried to distance himself. But everything she did brought his mind back to the gutter.

She was a beautiful, smart, capable hunter which were all pluses in his book. And she knew _him_ unlike other girls who just didn't get him at all and would never understand his lifestyle. On the other hand, he didn't think he stood a chance at having her. He wasn't good enough for her. Had never been, really. He was bad for her, he had hurt her, and that made him nervous that she wouldn't be receptive towards him.

"No!" Sam jerked in the back, his startled gasp making the young woman jump. Dean snickered at her before turning to glance at his brother, glad for the reprieve from his inner turmoil.

"Sam, wake up." He said and Sam blinked. Sitting up, he blinked at them in confusion before sighing.

Dryly, he said: "I take it I was having a nightmare."

"Yeah, another one."

"Hey, at least I got some sleep." He joked. Riley rolled her eyes.

Dean shook his head with a small frown. "You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this." Sam looked away from his brother and cleared his throat.

"Are we here?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Yep. Welcome to Toledo, Ohio, Samwise." Riley grinned and handed him the cup of coffee. Sam smiled at her and took the cup before reaching the newspaper that he had circled the article for a potential case.

Sam skimmed over it again. "So, what do you think really happened to this guy?"

"That's what we're gonna find out." Dean murmured and took the bag back from Riley.

"Gimme." She snatched it back before offering the bag to Sam. "Want one, Sam? It's a mini cinnamon bun."

Sam almost laughed at his brother's pout and declined.

She let Dean take it back from her and he finished off the rest of the breakfast.

Once he was finished, he tossed the empty bag into the backseat floorboard, much to Riley's and Sam's annoyance, and dusted off his jacket of cinnamon and sugar.

"Let's go."

They got out of the car and headed for the hospital to find the morgue.

* * *

Riley found the morgue's room number on the wall and they hopped on the elevator.

Sam stood between Riley and Dean on the ride down, rubbing at his temples. He was exhausted and the coffee hadn't helped as much as he thought it would have. Something prodded his arm and he glanced down to see a bottle of aspirin. He blinked at Riley who arched an eyebrow and waited for him to respond.

He nodded at her in thanks and took the bottle, opening the cap and tapping a few pills into his hand. He almost missed the look on Dean's face as his brother watched the interaction. Catching his eyes, they both smirked. Riley was such a mother hen, but she had always been that way. He popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed, grateful for the caring blonde.

The elevator stopping, dinging at the arrival of the floor they had hit the button for and exited through the opening doors.

In the room there sat two desks, one was empty and in the other sat a tech, and Riley read the nameplate on the empty one.

 _Dr. D. Feiklowicz._

She grimaced and practiced saying it in her head. It wouldn't do to botch that up.

The balding tech at the other desk looked up at their arrival. He was older than an intern normally would be, so Riley assumed that he was an employee.

"Hey." The man greeted.

Dean nodded back. "Hey."

The tech arched an eyebrow, looking from one face to the other.

"Can I help you?"

Dean shifted. "Yeah. We're the, uh...med students."

The tech frowned. "Sorry?"

"Oh, Doctor—"

Riley jumped in before Dean could mispronounce the name.

"Dr. Feiklowicz." She said confidentially, raising an eyebrow at the man. "He didn't tell you about us? We talked to him on the phone."

"Right." Dean nodded, grateful the girl intervened. "We're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."

The morgue tech shook his head. "Well, I'm sorry, he's at lunch."

"Oh well he said, uh," He shrugged. "Well, you know it doesn't matter. You don't mind just showing us the body, do you?"

"Sorry, I can't. Doc will be back in an hour. You can wait for him if you want." He indicated a set of chairs.

Dean shook his head. "An hour? Ooh. We gotta be heading back to Columbus by then." He glanced at Riley and Sam who nodded.

"Yeah." They said at the same time.

"Uh, look, man, this paper's like half our grade, so if you don't mind helping us out-"

The morgue tech snorted. "Uh, look, man...no." He mocked him.

Dean turned around and muttered under his breath.

"I'm gonna hit him in his face I swear."

Riley smirked when Sam hit him on the arm and she stepped around the boys, going over to the tech who was looking back down at his newspaper. She unbuttoned the top of her shirt as she got to the desk.

"Please, sir."

His eyes lifted to her and he stared at her. "My grades are _so_ important to me." She continued, fluttering her eyes at him as she leaned over his desk. He visibly swallowed and his eyes wandered to her cleavage. "I'd just die if I didn't get good grades." She bit her lip and the tech shifted in his seat. Dean snorted at his expression and Sam smirked at him, making him scowl. "So, if you'd be so kind as to help a poor college girl out?" She batted her eyes at him.

Taking another lingering look at her chest, he nodded. "Sure thing. Follow me, miss."

Riley turned and grinned at the boys, showing them two thumbs up. Sam snickered and Dean rolled his eyes.

They entered the lab and the tech flipped on the light. Walking over to one of the freezers, he took the door handle and opened it. Reaching in, he grabbed the sliding body rack and pulled it out. Riley wrinkled her nose a bit. She really didn't like morgues.

"Now the newspaper said his daughter found him." Sam spoke first. "She said his eyes were bleeding."

The tech nodded and pulled back the sheet over Steven Shoemaker's face.

"More than that. They practically liquefied."

The man's eyes were nonexistent. Bloodied holes in his skull.

"Holy fudge." Riley muttered under her breath.

"Any sign of a struggle? Maybe somebody did it to him?" Dean questioned, moving closer to the body.

"Nope. Besides the daughter, he was all alone." The tech shook his head.

Riley turned away from the man. "What's the official cause of death?"

The tech rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, Doc's not sure. He's thinking massive stroke, maybe an aneurysm? Something burst up in there, that's for sure."

Intrigued, Sam lifted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Intense cerebral bleeding. This guy had more blood in his skull than anyone I've ever seen."

He frowned. "The eyes-what would cause something like that?"

"Capillaries can burst. See a lot of bloodshot eyes with stroke victims."

Dean scoffed. "Yeah? You ever see exploding eyeballs?"

Riley rolled her eyes.

The tech shrugged and gave them a smirk. "That's a first for me, but hey, I'm not the doctor."

"Hey, think we could take a look at that police report? You know for, uh...our paper."

"I'm not really supposed to show you that..." He said and his eyes cut over to Riley. Dean scowled.

The blonde sighed. "That's too bad...I really want to get an A."

The tech swallowed.

She tugged a pen from her pocket and took his hand, writing something on his palm. "Would this help?"

He looked at the number and smiled absentmindedly. Dean scowled and tried to see what she had written on his palm.

"Y-yeah. Sure thing, Brittney."

Riley giggled at him and Sam snickered as the tech fumbled for the keys to the file cabinet.

Riley walked behind the boys as they exited the morgue.

"Might not be one of ours." Sam was saying. "Might just be some freak medical thing."

Dean rolled his eyes. "How many times in Dad's long and varied career has it actually been a freak medical thing and not some sign of an awful supernatural death?"

"Uh, almost never." He answered, shaking his head at his own question.

"Exactly."

"All right, let's go talk to the daughter." Riley spoke up and Dean turned to scowl at her.

"There are other ways of getting the job done without you flaunting yourself, Blondie."

She blinked at his hostile expression and then scoffed at him.

"Well, how else were we going to get by him? Bribe him with money? I didn't give him my real name or number, I'm not nuts. I guarantee we would have had to pay cash if he hadn't been so fixated on my chest. Did you want to lose your Poker money?" She rolled her eyes. "It's not like I would have slept with him, Dean. How many times have you flirted with some random woman to get information?"

"I would have paid." He said instantly.

Riley snorted. "Bullshit, you'd whine that you lost damn Poker money, you big baby."

Sam rolled his eyes at them as they continued to bicker.

"Guys, knock it off. Look, I don't really agree with Riley's method, but hey, she pulled one over on him and we got our info, Dean. Just be glad we didn't have to hand him your Poker game cash."

Riley stuck her tongue out at Dean childishly and he did it back.

Sam shook his head at them.

* * *

The trio walked up to the Shoemaker house and were welcomed inside by one of the family members. As they walked through the home, they noticed all of the attendees were dressed in black. The Winchester boys stuck out sore thumbs in their flannels and jeans. Only Riley looked like she belonged in her black skirt and dark grey button up.

"Feel like we're underdressed." Dean muttered and Riley smirked.

"Why you feel a draft?" She snickered quietly and dodged the hand swung in her direction.

"Knock it off, guys." Sam muttered.

They keep walking through the house towards the backyard where they could see a teenager about two or three years younger than Riley with short dark hair sitting on a bench next to two other teenage girls and a younger girl with long light brown hair. Riley noticed the little girl's posture and tilted her head. She looked...guilty.

Dean spoke up first as they approached the four girls.

"You must be Donna, right?"

The young woman looked up.

"Yeah."

Sam grimaced. "Hi, uh—we're really sorry."

"Thank you."

"I'm Sam, this is Dean and his girlfriend, Riley." Dean's arm snaked around her waist before she could speak, and she tried not to blush when he tugged her closer to him, pressed almost flush against his side. He didn't have to hold her so damn close! The blonde in the lounge chair was eyeing Dean like a piece of meat and Riley rolled her eyes.

"We worked with your dad."

Donna looked confused and exchanged looks with her friend next to her.

"You did?

Dean nodded. "Yeah. This whole thing. I mean, a stroke."

The girl next to Donna frowned. "I don't think she really wants to talk about this right now." Riley thought she seemed suspicious of them.

Donna shook her head. "It's okay. I'm okay."

Riley looked at her. "Were there any symptoms? Like, dizziness or migraines?"

"No." She murmured and then the younger sister whirled around.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke." She exclaimed.

Donna looked at her in concern. "Lily, don't say that."

"What?" Sam asked and she looked at him apologetically.

"I'm sorry, she's just upset."

"No, it happened because of me." Lily said, upset.

"Sweetie, it didn't."

Sam walked over. "Lily." She looked at him as he knelt in front of her. "Why would you say something like that?" He asked gently.

She hesitated at first, but no one can resist the pleading puppy dog eyes of Sam Winchester.

"Right before he died, I said it." She whispered.

"You said what?"

Riley and Dean tensed, waiting to hear what she would say. Dean's arm tightened around her slightly and she almost leaned against him. Almost.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror." She paused for a second and then continued. "She took his eyes, that's what she does."

Donna sighed and shook her head. "That's not why Dad died. This isn't your fault."

"I think your sister's right, Lily." Dean spoke up. "There's no way it could have been Bloody Mary. Your dad didn't say it, did he?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

Dean nodded, exchanging looks with Riley. They needed to see that bathroom.

"We just wanted to give you our condolences." She told them and Donna nodded.

"Thank you."

Riley stepped out from Dean's embrace, relived to do so. "Would you mind if I used your bathroom?"

"Not at all. There's one down the hall next to the stairs."

"Thank you so much."

* * *

Slipping past the guests, they managed to get upstairs unseen.

Riley opened the bathroom door and they peered inside. There was still some dried blood on the floor.

"The Bloody Mary legend...Dad ever find any evidence that it was a real thing?" Sam questioned.

Dean shook his head and stepped further into the bathroom. "Not that I know of."

Sam bent down and touched the floor, inspecting it.

"I mean, everywhere else all over the country, kids will play Bloody Mary, and as far as we know, nobody dies from it."

"Well, maybe because everywhere else it's just a story but here it actually happens." Riley guessed and Dean nodded at her in agreement.

"The place where the legend began?" Sam inquired.

Riley shrugged. "It's possible."

Dean opened the medicine cabinet and peered inside.

"But according to the legend, the person who says-" Sam paused and scowled at his reflection, before shutting the cabinet. "The person who says you-know-what gets it. But here-"

His brother nodded. "Shoemaker gets it instead, yeah."

"Right."

"Never heard anything like that before. Still, the guy did die right in front of the mirror, and the daughter's right." Dean pointed out. "The way the legend goes, you-know-who scratches your eyes out.

"It's worth checking in to." Riley stated. "I saw a library when we drove through town."

A creak on the floor, made them freeze and then they exited the bathroom.

There in the hallway was Donna's friend. The suspicious one.

She frowned at them. "What are you doing up here?"

Dean grinned. "We—we, had to go to the bathroom."

She narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"  
"Like we said downstairs, we worked with Donna's dad." He said and she scoffed.

"He was a day trader or something. He worked by himself." She snapped.

He stumbled over his words. "No, I know, I meant-"

"And all those weird questions downstairs, what was that? So you tell me what's going on, or I start screaming."

Riley stepped up.

"All right, look. We think something happened to Donna's dad. Not a stroke. Because that is not a sign of a typical stroke."

Her frown lessened. "Something like what?"

Riley sighed. "Honestly? We don't know yet. But we don't want it to happen to anyone else. That's the truth."

Dean nodded. "So, if you're gonna scream, go right ahead."

They waited, but she never moved.

"Who are you, cops?"

Riley smirked. "Something like that." She pulled a piece of paper out and wrote something on it. "Here. This is my number. If you think of anything, you or your friends notice anything strange or out of the ordinary then give us a call, okay? We're not out to hurt anyone, we just want to find out what's going on here."

The girl nodded.

"Were those your real names?"

"Yes, I'm Riley. This is Sam and Dean."

"I'm Charlie." The girl relaxed. Riley was easy to talk to.

"It's nice to meet you, Charlie."

* * *

Riley led the way into the library.

"Can we please go to the motel after this? These friggin' heels are killing me and I hate this damn skirt."

Dean's eyes drifted to her ass when she bent over to rub at her foot before sticking it back in the shoe. Sam smacked his chest and the noise attracted Riley, turning her head. Dean immediately looked elsewhere, and Sam was shaking his head. Riley gave them a confused look.

"Yeah, sure." The younger Winchester answered her, and she stood back up.

"Great."

Dean turned back to them. "All right. Say Bloody Mary really is haunting this town. There's gonna be some sort of proof—Like a local woman who died nasty."

Riley sighed. "There's like 50 versions of who she is though."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, it's widespread. One story says she's a witch, another says she's a mutilated bride, there's a lot more."

"All right so what are we supposed to be looking for?" His brother asked as they neared the computers.

"Every version's got a few things in common. It's always a woman named Mary, and she always dies right in front of a mirror. So we've gotta search local newspapers—public records as far back as they go. See if we can find a Mary who fits the bill."

"Well that sounds annoying." Dean griped.

"You can say that again." Riley muttered, gesturing at the signs that adorned each computer. "Out of Order" they read.

"Well crap."

* * *

"Which is the pile we've already gone through?"

Dean glanced up and froze at the sight of Riley who was running her fingers through her damp hair. Her tank top was stuck to her body, her pajama shorts perfectly short. Swallowing, he nodded at the pile of books in the chair across from him.

"Okay." She bent and grabbed some of the books from the floor next to him. When he looked at her again, she was sitting crisscross on the bed in front of him, flipping pages.

A snore sounded and she glanced up, catching his eyes. He nodded behind her with a smirk and she looked over her shoulder. Sam was sprawled across his bed, deep asleep, an open book across his chest.

"He's not going to be happy you let him sleep." She commented. "But he needed it."

Dean's eyes softened and the smirk faded. "Yeah, he did."

Riley went over to the motel's closet and got out a spare blanket. She shook it out before draping it over Sam and tucking it around him. Dean snorted softly. Mother hen. Her concern for Sam hadn't changed over the years. He wondered briefly if she had ever had any feelings for his brother. Or if she did now. She had given him the medicine earlier and then the blanket... He knew she would do that for him regardless. Not that he wanted her to do that for him...

Riley was back on the bed now, laying on her stomach. Her feet were in the air, her ankles crossed, and she was checking the index of a book in front of her.

"Blondie."

"Hm?"

He hesitated, almost loathe to bring it up, but it had been bothering him for the past month since she had come on the road with them.

"We need to talk."

That got her attention and she turned to look at him from the bed.

"About what?"

"That night."

"What night?" She asked slowly, though her body was tense. She had an inkling of what he wanted to talk about.

"You know." He said simply and waited.

Riley sat up and stared at the man across from her. Dean was sitting there nonchalant like he hadn't just declared they talk about it. She didn't want to talk about it, because she knew if they did, she'd make the mistake of telling him she still felt the same as she had that night. And it _would_ be a mistake. He'd reject her again and with good reason. He was Dean, the one-night stand king, and he wasn't interested in her. Had never been. She wasn't sure why he wanted to talk about it, other than maybe he wanted to make sure they were good. That she didn't hold any grudges. She didn't. She had been fifteen and stupid. Full of fantasies and craziness. And he was Dean Winchester, the rough tough hunter with the gorgeous green eyes. Eyes that were just now looking at her intently and making her skin prickle uncomfortably with heat.

"Right now?"

He nodded and she sighed.

"Why? Look, I don't, like, hate you or anything. I mean, I was fifteen and stupid. I didn't know what I was saying." She babbled, though inside she was screaming the truth.

Dean frowned. "I hurt you." He was frustrated because he had been in the wrong that night. He had lied to her about how he had felt, how he still felt...Especially when she smiled at him.

She shrugged. "You're not the first who's told me the truth, Dean. The truth hurts." She fingered the necklace around her neck. "This is a reminder." She held it up, the ring glittering in the dim light of the bedside lamp. "I didn't tell you this part of the story, but Eli and I were-" She looked pained as she tried to explain. " _I_ was calling off the engagement that night he was killed. We fought because he had cheated on me and I stormed out, leaving him with our friends. He told me he cheated because he thought _I_ was cheating on him, that's what we were fighting about." Riley tucked the necklace back in her tank top. "But I didn't."

Dean wasn't sure how to respond. "Why would he think that?"

The young woman shrugged. "I don't know." She frowned. "Why did you want to talk about it?"

"You never called or made contact. I hadn't heard from you in years." He lied, too cowardly to admit that it had bothered him. "Bobby only had my number because he tried dad first."

Riley was silent for a moment, looking at her lap. She nodded and raised her head. "You're right. I never meant to stop talking to you, but after the falling out between dad and John... Weeks turned into months and so on," She shrugged, looking at him apologetically. "Then I started working with Pastor Jim and met his son, Eli. We did hunts together and then...Well you know the rest." She looked back down quickly. "I end up driving people away and then things happen to them."

Dean moved to sit on the bed next to her and he touched her chin with gentle fingers, tilting her face toward him. Her eyes rose slowly, and he felt heat pool in his stomach when her shimmering blue eyes landed on his face.

She didn't expect him to touch her that way, so gentle and intimate. His eyes were two burning green infernos and she couldn't look away, nor did she want too. They were so close that she could see specs of gold in the green irises.

"Hey," He said softly. "That wasn't on you. It's not your fault. People fight and argue, but nothing happens because of it. You walked to get some air, right? But you had every intention of going back."

She shook her head. "No, Dean, I left them in there. I wasn't...I didn't _want_ to go back. If I had just toughened it out and tried to work it out with him instead of running...They'd still be alive." Tears shimmered in her eyes and he had a moment to take in how beautiful she was. How beautiful she always had been.

"You can't think that. It'll drive you crazy. He was a hunter too, yeah? It happens. It was an accident nothing more. It wasn't on you."

"You really believe that?" She asked softly, biting her lip. If he knew the whole story, he and Sam both would run for the hills. If they knew she had seen Eli's death in the same repeated dream for several weeks before the incident, that that was the real reason Eli had thought she was cheating on him. She had been distancing herself slowly, afraid of putting him in harm's way from whatever it had been, but...it had happened.

"Yeah."

She found herself leaning into his touch, seeking the warmth and comfort he was giving. They were inches away from each other, noses almost touching. She found she couldn't look away from his eyes.

"Dean." She breathed, trembling slightly. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be leaning so close to him.

Dean licked his lips, eyes lowering to her slightly parted ones. "Yeah?" He leaned closer, unable to stop himself. He suddenly wanted to confess to her. To tell her the truth about that night. He wanted to kiss her.

"Riley, about that night? There's something you should know..." He began.

Riley was hardly listening to him, trying to make herself stop getting so close to him. It was like she couldn't stop herself.

Sam snorted loudly and flopped in the bed behind them. Before Dean knew it, Riley was up and across the room.

"I'm going to get some air. I'll be back." She said rapidly, red-faced, and fled out the door.

Dean watched her shut the door and then dropped his head into his hands. "Damn it." What had he been thinking? Almost kissing her? Almost telling her the truth? "What the hell is wrong with me?" He said aloud.

Riley pressed against the closed door. "What the hell was I thinking? I almost kissed him. Damn it." Trying to calm down her racing heart, she headed down toward the vending machines.

Dean looked up when Riley came back in carrying two cans of soda.

"Wanna drink?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that'd be great." She handed one to him and went to sit on the couch. She went back to researching, ignoring him. Groaning quietly at his own stupidity, he rested his head against the wall behind him.

* * *

Sam jerked awake and Dean glanced up at him from the notebook in his hand. Riley had condensed her findings into a few notebook pages, so he was scanning back through them while she was out getting breakfast.

"Why'd you let me fall asleep?" He said groggily, frowning.

"Cause I'm an awesome brother." Dean replied with a wry grin. "So, what did you dream about?"

Sam ran a hand over his face. "Lollipops and candy canes."

He snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"Did you guys find anything?" He got off the bed, stretching his limbs and toed the blanket that fell off him. "Riley?" He guessed with a small grin.

Dean smirked back. "Yep. And we found nothing, besides a whole new level of frustration. Riley found a few local women who committed suicide in front of a mirror. And I found a guy named Dave who had a giant mirror fall on him, but uh, no Mary."

Sam sat back down with a groan. "Maybe we just haven't found it yet."

"We've also been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know...eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary." He muttered.

Riley came back in, phone against her ear.

"Okay, don't worry. We're on our way, Charlie." She promised and hung up, turning to face the boys. "It happened again. That girl we met at the house? Her friend died. Same way."

"Guess we better check it out." Dean said and took the bag of food from her.

"Morning, Sam." Riley smiled and he shook his head her.

"You should have woken me."

"You have to sleep sometime." She said seriously before rolling her eyes at Dean who was digging through the food bag. "Hey, quit hogging the food!"

Sam shook his head at them as they fought over the bag of donuts.

* * *

Riley patted Charlie gently as the girl told her story. Sam was on the other side of her, while Dean was perched on the back of it, his leg pressed against Riley's back.

"And they found her on the bathroom floor. And her—her eyes. They were gone." The teen sniffled.

Sam looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry."

Charlie sighed. "And she said it." Dean looked at Sam and Riley. They were all on edge. "I heard her say it. But it couldn't be because of that." She shook her head and looked at Riley. "I'm insane, right?"

Dean answered first. "No, you're not insane."

She groaned and rested her head on her hands. "Oh God, that makes me feel so much worse." Riley grimaced and patted her again.

"Look, Charlie. We think something's happening here. Something that can't be explained." She told her and Dean nodded.

"And we're gonna stop it but we could use your help." He added.

"How?" Charlie sniffled.

* * *

"Need a boost?" Dean smirked and Riley glared at him over her shoulder, pausing from climbing into Jill's bedroom window. His hands looked ready to shove her ass.

"Want a boot in your face?" She retorted and he snickered as she climbed in. She turned and caught the duffel bag that he slid off his back and tossed to her.

"Hurry up and get inside." Sam hissed, perching precariously on the ladder and climbed in after his chuckling brother.

"What did you tell Jill's mom?" Riley inquired as Charlie watched them dig through the bag.

"Just that I needed some time alone with Jill's pictures and things." She sighed and rubbed her arm guiltily. "I hate lying to her."

Dean shut the curtains and turned around. "Trust us, this is for the greater good. Hit the lights."

The teenager turned the lights off. "What are you guys looking for?"

"We'll let you know as soon as we find it."

Sam lifted the digital camera from the bag and turned to Dean. "Hey, night vision." He handed it over and Dean flipped the night vison on for him. "Perfect." He lifted it and aimed it around the room.

Dean made a face when it landed on him. "Do I look like Paris Hilton?"

"Yes." Riley smirked and he smirked back.

Sam ignored them and walked away with the camera. He opened Jill's closet door and began filming around the mirror.

"So, I don't get it. I mean...the first victim didn't summon Mary, and the second victim did. How's she choosing them?" He questioned and Dean shrugged.

"Beats me. I want to know why Jill said it in the first place." He turned to Charlie who sighed.

"It's just a joke."

"Well, someone will say it again." Riley said, frowning. "It's a matter of time. And it's definitely no joke."

"Hey." Sam called from the bathroom. "There's a black light in the trunk, right?"

Dean nodded. "I'll get it."

Riley went into the bathroom with Sam and helped him get the mirror down. As they did, Riley could see the blood that Sam had seen on the back of the mirror.

"Let's lay it on the bed, mirror side down." He suggested and they hauled it into the room and onto Jill's bed.

Dean came back in with the blacklight and he tossed it to his brother.

Riley peeled off the brown paper on the back of the mirror and Sam turned on the blacklight, shining it down where the paper was being peeled off. On the back was a clear handprint and the words "Gary Bryman."

"Gary Bryman?" Charlie read aloud.

"You know who that is?" Sam asked and she shook her head.

"No."

Riley groaned. "Time to go back to the ancient library."

* * *

"So...what's going on with Dean?"

Riley glanced at Sam from the newspaper archives she had been searching through. She gave him a confused look.

"What?"

Sam arched an eyebrow. "He's been acting weird. You haven't noticed?"

"No. He's his usual goofy self. Why? Is something going on with him?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know he likes you, Riles."

"He _tolerates_ me." She corrected with a snort.

"No, I mean he _likes_ you, likes you."

"Are we in the fourth grade?" She teased and felt a jolt of uneasiness. "Seriously, Sam. There's nothing between Dean and I." She went back to her archive.

"Either you like him too or you're oblivious. And I think it's the first."

Riley grimaced, knowing he was right. "Shut up, Sam."

"You used to have a huge crush on him when we were younger." He pointed out.

"Used to, Sam. _Used too._ It's not that way anymore."

He started to say something else, but the look on her face was distraught and full of fear.

"Please don't push this, Sam. I'll admit that I _once_ felt something, but not anymore. Just..." She begged him and he nodded, his eyes softening. "Just please drop it."

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't say anything else." He said and relief went across her face so quickly that he almost missed it. He was more than curious now, but it was apparent that she didn't want to discuss it.

* * *

Dean and Charlie were still on the bench when Riley and Sam exited the library.

"So, Gary Bryman was an 8-year-old boy." Sam told them as he approached the park bench. "Two years ago, he was killed in a hit and run. The car was described as a black Toyota Camry. But nobody got the plates or saw the driver."

Charlie gasped. "Oh my God." Her eyes widened and Riley looked at her in concern.

"What's wrong?'

"Jill drove that car."

Riley looked at Dean who frowned. "We need to get back to your friend Donna's house."

* * *

After getting into the house, they checked the bathroom mirror.

Sam held the blacklight over the back of the mirror.

There was a handprint and a name.

"Linda Shoemaker." Riley read. "Do you think the dad killed her?"

Dean shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

* * *

They went down the steps and met with Donna who was not to happy to have them questioning her.

"Why are you asking me this?" She demanded and Sam sighed.

"Look, we're sorry, but it's important."

Donna rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Linda's my mom okay? She overdosed on sleeping pills, it was an accident, and that's it." She glared at them. "I think you should leave."

"Now Donna, just listen." Dean began, but she wasn't having it.

"Get out of my house!" She shrieked and ran upstairs.

Charlie turned to them. "Oh my God. Do you really think her dad could've killed her mom?"

Riley grimaced. "Maybe."

"I think I should stick around."

"All right. Whatever you do, don't-"

Charlie waved her off. "Believe me, I won't say it."

* * *

"Wait, wait, wait, you're doing a nationwide search?"

Dean nodded. "Yep. The NCIC, the FBI database—at this point any Mary who died in front of a mirror is good enough for me.

"But if she's haunting the town, she should have died in the town." Sam argued.

"I'm telling you there's nothing local, I've checked. So unless you got a better idea-"

Sam frowned. "The way Mary's choosing her victims, it seems like there's a pattern."

Riley sat down across from Sam and put her legs across his lap, making him roll his eyes at her. "Yeah, I caught that too. With Mr. Shoemaker and Jill's hit and run."

Dean nodded. "Both had secrets where people died."

"Right." His brother agreed. "I mean there's a lot of folklore about mirrors-that they reveal all your lies, all your secrets, that they're a true reflection of your soul, which is why it's bad luck to break them." Riley felt like someone punched her gut and she shifted on the bed. Sam's words reminded her of the dark secret she held and the knowledge that if the boys were to learn of it, would make them run in the opposite direction.

"Right, right." Dean agreed. "So maybe if you've got a secret, I mean like a really nasty one where someone died, then Mary sees it, and punishes you for it."

"Whether you're the one that summoned her or not." Riley added quietly. Sam looked at her, frowning at her quiet tone, but Dean was pulling something from the printer.

"Take a look at this."

Sam took the offered picture and glanced down at it. A woman was lying by a mirror in a puddle of blood. Riley glanced at the photo too and then Dean handed them another one. This one was of a handprint and the letters "Tre"

"Looks like the same handprint." Sam looked at Dean who nodded.

"Her name was Mary Worthington—an unsolved murder in Fort Wayne, Indiana."

"You think she was trying to spell a name?" Riley questioned and he shrugged.

"Guess we're going to find the detective who was on this case."

* * *

Riley washed her face in the bathroom sink again, making sure the blood was gone. It wasn't as much as last time, but it was still enough to worry her a little. Rubbing her forehead, she groaned tiredly. Every now and then she'd get intense headaches and her nose would bleed. She had felt it coming before they had left to talk to the retired detective, so she had told Sam she wasn't feeling well enough to go.

A knock on the bathroom door made her glance up.

"Hey, Riley, we're back. Are you feeling, okay?" It was Sam.

Riley took a steadying breath.

"Yeah. Be out in a second."

Checking her reflection once more, she turned off the light and came out of the bathroom.

Sam was sitting on the bed, looking at his laptop. "Dean went to get food." He said without looking up.

Riley nodded and went to sit on the couch, downing a few pills for her headache.

"Are you okay?"

Sam was looking at her with worry.

"Just a bad headache. It'll go away." Riley responded and propped her feet up on the little coffee table. "So what did you guys find out?"

Sam launched into what had happened at the detective's house.

"See, you were right about her trying to spell something out-"

Riley's brows rose. "So, we find the mirror and smash it?"

"Something like that I think." He nodded and glanced down at his lap for a moment. "Riley about what happened at the library-"

Dean came in the door before he could continue, and Riley was relieved.

"Feeling up to eating a cheeseburger on the road, Blondie?" The green-eyed hunter smirked at her and she smirked back.

"Sure thing, Winchester."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed.

* * *

Riley leaned up from the backseat so that her arms were propped on the back of the front seats and she could rest her chin on her folded arms.

"Oh really?" Sam said into his phone. He was calling about the mirror. "Ah that's too bad Mr. Worthington. I would have paid a lot for that mirror. Okay, well maybe next time. All right, thanks." He hung up with a sigh and Dean turned to him.

"So?"

"So that was Mary's brother. The mirror was in the family for years, until he sold it one week ago to a store called Estate Antiques. A store in Toledo."

"So wherever the mirror goes, that's where Mary goes?" Riley concluded and Sam nodded.

"Her spirit's definitely tied up with it somehow."

Dean turned to glance at his brother and Riley. "Isn't there an old superstition that says mirrors can capture spirits?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah there is."

"Yeah," Riley nodded. "When someone would die in a house people would cover up the mirrors so the ghost wouldn't get trapped."

"So Mary dies in front of a mirror, and it draws in her spirit." Dean guessed.

Sam frowned, but not in disagreement. "Yeah but how could she move through like a hundred different mirrors?"

"I don't know, but if the mirror is the source, I say we find it and smash it."

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe."

Riley's phone started ringing and she dug it out of her jacket, sliding back a bit in the seat. "Hello?" She prompted and the frowned. "Charlie? Hey, hey, slow down. What happened?" She listened rapidly and then sighed. "Okay, listen to me. Do not look at anything reflective okay? Right. We're on the way. It's okay, Charlie." She hung up and met Dean's eyes in the rearview mirror. "Donna said it this time."

"Well, crap." He muttered.

"Yeah and it's after Charlie."

* * *

After picking up the girl, they went back to the motel room throwing blankets and sheets over every reflective surface they could find and drawing the curtain closed. Charlie was sitting on the bed all the while, hiding her face into her knees and Riley was next to her, stroking her hair and trying to give her comfort. Sam nodded at her when she glanced at him and nodded back.

"Hey, hey it's okay. Hey, you can open up your eyes Charlie. It's okay, all right?" Riley prompted and the girl looked up slowly.

Sam sat down in front of her. "Now listen. You're gonna stay right here on this bed, and you're not gonna look at glass, or anything else that has a reflection, okay? And as long as you do that, she cannot get you." He told her calmly and she sniffled.

"But I can't keep that up forever. I'm gonna die, aren't I?"

Riley shook her head. "No. No. Not anytime soon."

Dean sat down next to Riley. "All right Charlie. We need to know what happened."

"We were in the bathroom." Charlie muttered. "Donna said it."

He shook his head. "That's not what we're talking about. Something happened, didn't it? In your life...a secret...where someone got hurt. Can you tell us about it?"

Charlie wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "I had this boyfriend. I loved him. But he kind of scared me too, you know? And one night, at his house, we got in this fight. Then I broke up with him, and he got upset, and he said he needed me and he loved me, and he said "Charlie, if you walk out that door right now, I'm gonna kill myself." And you know what I said? I said "Go ahead." And I left. How could I say that? How could I leave him like that? I just...I didn't believe him, you know? I should have." She put her face back onto her knees and started sobbing lightly. Riley stroked her hair and whispered to her soothingly.

* * *

After figuring out where the shop that had the mirror was located, the team took off leaving Charlie to rest in the motel room.

Riley stared out the window watching the rain drops roll down the glass, feeling a bit broody again and started playing with her hair, a nervous habit she had picked up as a small girl.

"You know," Dean began and Riley jumped at the sudden sound. "-her boyfriend killing himself, that's not really Charlie's fault."

Sam heaved a sigh. "You know as well as I do spirits don't exactly see shades of gray, Dean. Charlie had a secret, someone died, that's good enough for Mary."

"I guess."

Silence filled the car again for a second.

"You know, I've been thinking. It might not be enough to just smash that mirror." Sam spoke and Riley turned from the window.

"What do you mean, Sam?"

"Well Mary's hard to pin down, right? I mean she moves around from mirror to mirror so who's to say that she's not just gonna keep hiding in them forever? So maybe we should try to pin her down, you know, summon her to her mirror and then smash it."

Dean frowned. "Well how do you know that's going to work?"

"I don't, not for sure."

"Well, who's gonna summon her?"

Riley tensed. It was on the tip of her tongue to say something, but thought better of it.

"I will. She'll come after me." Sam said so calmly that Riley chewed her lip.

Dean grit his teeth. "You know what, that's it."

Sam and Riley both stared at him as found a safe spot and pulled the car over, shutting off the engine. For a second, he didn't speak and the sound of rain hitting the car filled the air. Finally, he turned to Sam. {He pulls the car over.}

"This is about Jessica, isn't it? You think that's your dirty little secret that you killed her somehow?" The blonde in the back studied Sam's face. Though his jaw was clenched his eyes spoke volumes. Dean sighed. "Sam, this has got to stop, man. I mean, the nightmares and calling her name out in the middle of the night—it's gonna kill you." His brother emphasized and then he heaved another sigh, frowning. "Now listen to me—It wasn't your fault. If you wanna blame something, then blame the thing that killed her. Or hell, why don't you take a swing at me? I mean I'm the one that dragged you away from her in the first place."

Sam's head swiveled to face him quickly, his face full of pain. "I don't blame you."

Dean shook his head. "Well, you shouldn't blame yourself, because there's nothing you could've done."

The look in Sam's eyes made Riley start to twist her hair again. she recognized that look because she saw it in her own face every time she caught her reflection. He had secret that haunted him just like she did.

"I could've warned her." The young man said softly, eyes getting a bit misty.

"About what?" Dean scowled. "You didn't know what was gonna happen!" Sam turned away, jaw tight again. "And besides, all of this isn't a secret, I mean I know all about it. So does Riley!" She jumped at being addressed and her eyes widened when Dean's hand gestured at her. "It's not gonna work with Mary anyway."

"No, you don't."

Dean frowned. "I don't what?"

"You don't know all about it. I haven't told you everything."

"What are you talking about?"

Sam turned to him. "Well it wouldn't really be a secret if I told you, would it?"

Giving him a surprised look, he shook his head. "No. I don't like it. It's not gonna happen, forget it."

Sam sighed. "Dean, that girl back there is going to die unless we do something about it. And you know what? Who knows how many more people are gonna die after that? Now we're doing this. You've got to let me do this."

"Just let him do it." Riley spoke up for the first time since the argument started. Dean was too stubborn to let Sam go through with it and she didn't exactly like it herself.

Dean opened his mouth to argue but she plowed on. "No, Dean. The reason doesn't matter as long as we can summon her and smash the mirror she's pulled into. Charlie is depending on us and we're wasting time." She looked from one brother to the next. "We'll both be there with him." She added for good measure and Dean groaned.

"All right already. Stop ganging up on me."

* * *

After Riley picked the lock with ease, they entered the shop. Switching on their flashlights, they shone them around the room. There were dozens of mirrors everywhere.

"Well...that's just great." Dean griped and pulled out the picture of Mary's body that had the mirror. Riley peered over his shoulder to look at it, pressing against his back and he smirked slightly that she was on her tip toes. "All right let's start looking. Blondie, you're with me."

"Aye, captain." She saluted him and Sam snorted.

Dean led the way toward the left side of the store. "So, what was that?"

"What was what?"

"In the car?"

She shrugged. "Sam obviously wanted to do it because he feels so strongly about it. Or are you asking me what he knows, because I don't."

He shrugged back. "Just wondering why, you were ganging up on me."

She rolled her eyes and ducked a low hanging sign. "I wasn't ganging up on you, you big baby. Sam wants to do it, so I just think you should let him."

"You like him? Sam." Dean said and Riley stared at him.

"What?"

"You've been mothering him a lot lately."

"Well, excuse me for helping take care of Sam. I just happen to know how it feels to have someone you loved ripped out of your life."

Dean took her arm. "Sorry, okay? I know. You can sympathize with him. It just frustrates the hell out of me that he won't talk to me." He glared at the wall behind her.

Riley sighed and took his face in her hands, surprising him and he looked at her. He swallowed nervously, fidgeting beneath her hands.

"Hey, give it time. Sam's still grieving and there's a lot going on in that head of his. He'll come around to telling you, Dean. Just give him time. You're a good brother, you always have been. Just keep being there for him, okay?"

He nodded dumbly, slightly dazed by her sparkling blue eyes.

She smiled at him and his felt something flutter in his chest. "Don't worry, Sam's like a brother to me. Always has been and always will be."

To his disappointment, her hands slid away from his face and she turned to keep looking for the mirror.

"Hey, Sam." She called. "Maybe they've already sold it."

"I don't think so." He answered and Dean shook his head to clear it. He'd be thinking about her eyes and her smile later and how her hands had felt on his face.

They made their way over to Sam and he pulled the picture out to compare it.

"That's it." He said and then sighed, turning to Sam. "You sure about this?"

Sam handed him his flashlight for an answer and faced the mirror. "Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary." He glanced at Riley and Dean took a deep breath, taking a crowbar and lifting it up ready to swing. "Bloody Mary."

A car pulled up in front of the store, lights beaming through the darkness.

"I'll go check that out. Stay here with Sam." He told Riley and then looked at his little brother. "Smash anything that moves." Dean left them and Riley watched Sam.

Her eyes widened when he glanced at a side mirror and smashed it with his crowbar. Then he quickly turned and smashed another before facing her original mirror.

"Come on. Come into this one." He taunted. Riley watched Sam's reflection and gasped softly. It wasn't doing what Sam was doing. Glancing back at Sam, she could see blood trickling from his right eye.

"Sam."

"'m okay." He grunted, though he was staring to have trouble breathing.

Reflection Sam glared at him. "It's your fault." It said slowly. "You killed her. You killed Jessica."

"Sam!" Riley grabbed the crowbar from him, but was stopped by her own mirror image that appear next to Sam's while his was still talking. In a matter of seconds, Riley was on her knees next to Sam, holding her aching head. Blood trickled from her eyes.

"You did it. You let them all die! You saw it in your dreams and did nothing!" Reflection Riley hissed at her. "You walked away and let it happen! How could you just leave them there to die! Leave Eli there to die?!"

Sam glanced at the girl next to him. Riley looked worse off than he did and realized that it was killing her faster.

Dean came running back in to see both Sam and Riley on the ground in pain, eyes bleeding. Mary had gotten to the two of them and while part of him was confused at why the spirit was attacking Riley, now was not the time to ask questions. The girl looked seconds away from losing consciousness. Thinking quick, he grabbed the crowbar Riley had dropped and smashed the mirror.

He grabbed Sam's face. "Sammy, Sammy!"

Sam groaned and winced. "It's Sam."

"God, are you okay?" He questioned, wiping some of the blood from his brother's face.

"Uh, yeah." Sam said weakly. "Riley?"

Dean went over to her, cupping her face. "Hey, sugarpie, you with me?"

"What happened?" The blonde blinked at him and he snorted.

"Mary decided to pick on you too. Probably to keep you from helping Sam." Dean helped her sit up and then got Sam to his slightly unsteady feet.

"Go ahead and get him." Riley waved to Sam. "I'll be okay."

He gave her a doubtful glance, but urged Sam toward the door, knowing the cops wouldn't be out for long.

Riley ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and turned to find something to pull herself up with. Seeing an old stool, she used it to get up wobbly and then grabbed a table to keep from falling back to the ground.

As she did, she heard glass crunching behind her and slowly turned. Mary was crawling out of the broken mirror like a creature from a horror movie.

"Uh...Dean!"

He and Sam turned around and their eyes widened.

Mary started toward them and the three hunters fell to the ground, bleeding from the eyes. Riley managed to get close to them and Sam pulled her between him and Dean. The older Winchester reached for a mirror on his other side. Pulling the mirror in front of him, he aimed it at Mary.

The spirit paused staring at her refection which began shouting at her. "You killed them! All those people! You killed them!" Mary stumbled back choking to death and melted into a puddle of blood. Once she disappeared, Dean threw the mirror and shattered it.

Dean glanced at his brother. "Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"This has got to be like...what? 600 years of bad luck?"

Riley snorted as Sam chuckled weakly.

"Let's get the hell out of here. I need a stiff drink." She said and Dean nodded in agreement.

Charlie turned to face Riley when they stopped in front of her house.

"So this is really over?"

The older blonde nodded her head. "Yeah, it's over."

"Thank you!" Charlie hugged Riley and shook hands with Dean and Sam. "Thank you." She got out of the car and started up her driveway.

Sam leaned his head out of the window. "Charlie?" She turned around. "Your boyfriend's death...you really should try to forgive yourself. No matter what you did, you probably couldn't have stopped it. Sometimes bad things just happen."

She gave him a faint smile and then turned to go into the house. Dean hit Sam's arm gently.

"That's good advice."

Dean started up the engine and they drove toward the highway.

* * *

As they passed through the town, Dean glanced at Sam.

"Hey Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that this is all over, I want you to tell me what that secret is."

Sam sighed heavily. "Look...you're my brother and I'd die for you, but there are some things I need to keep to myself."

Riley remained silent.

* * *

 _Hours later at a motel/rest-stop..._

"Sam, can we talk?"

He turned to look at her. "Of course." She was chewing her lip nervously, staring out the window. "What's wrong, Riley?"

"What you said about Jessica..."

He sighed. "Riley, I'm not going to tell you either."

She finally looked at him, her blue eyes filled with tears. "No, you don't understand. I know you heard what Mary said to me." She paused for a moment, unsure. "Sam...When you said you could have warned her. Jessica. It reminded me of myself because...I saw Eli die before it happened."

Sam sat up straighter, alert. Eyes widening, he stared at her.

"In a dream?" He asked quickly and she nodded. "Oh my god. Jess..."

"You saw her too didn't you?"

He nodded, swallowing hard. "It doesn't make sense."

"I know how you're feeling, Sam. I knew he was going to die and I didn't do anything. I just walked away." She buried her face into her hands. "I let it happen, Sam. I saw it and I still walked away from him." She began to sob, her shoulders shaking.

Sam wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, Riley, it's okay."

"I never told anyone that part before. Please don't say anything."

"Of course, I won't. you think I'd tell about you when I have the same secret."

Wiping at her eyes, she looked back up at him. "Why Sam? why did we see it?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, Riley. I just don't know."

Sighing, Riley pulled out of his embrace. "I'm going to shower before Dean comes in and sees us hugging." She smirked and grabbed her bag from the couch. "He already asked me in that antique store if I had a thing for you."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dad used to think we did."

Her jaw dropped. "What? No way!"

"Way."

Laughing she went into the bathroom and shut the door.

Sam frowned at his lap as he heard the shower turn on. Why did he and Riley have those dreams? What did it mean? Before he could ponder it much further, his brother came in with a pack of beer and a big cheesy smile. Dean was his brother and it was wrong to keep him in the dark, he knew, but like Riley feared the outcome of his admittance. For now, Dean would just have to be content with not knowing everything.

* * *

 _Review?_


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